Journey's End
by just slummin
Summary: Takes place after the events of “Whiplash” in the continuing Mal/River storyline. To those stalwart folks who have read the storyline up to this point, I thank you for your patience with the long wait for this one. NOW COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part I—Making Good**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Author's Note: Takes place after the events of "Whiplash" in the continuing Mal/River storyline. To those stalwart folks who have read the storyline up to this point, I thank you for your patience with the long wait for this one. And I'm sorry if I'm a little rusty. For those who are new to the storyline, thanks for tuning in!

Summary: Mal decides it's time to make good on a promise he made to his son.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Think it might be just the thing," Mal said, his lips brushing against River's ear as they lay side by side in their bunk. "Last job paid decent enough we could take our ease for a spell."

River nuzzled closer into her husband's warmth. "No objections from me. Adam would be thrilled. But," she paused for a moment, a slight frown marring her pretty features. "Don't know that Inara would be wildly pleased. Nor Jayne for that matter. And I really can't picture Simon…"

The small chuckle that rippled through Mal vibrated pleasantly against her cheek. "What? You mean to say Simon's not a rugged outdoorsman-type?"

River poked his ribcage. "No making fun of my brother," she said, though Mal could feel that her lips had curved into a smile on his chest.

"But he's such an easy target."

"Still, no teasing if he agrees to go. Dong ma?"

Mal sighed. "Can't promise that, bao bei. Might just be too temptin'."

River rose to her elbows, giving Mal a solemn look. "No teasing," she repeated firmly.

Mal shrugged, trying hard not to consciously think of all the ways he could tease Simon, as his Reader wife was boring a hole through his forehead with her stare. "Anyway," he continued, attempting to distract her from her current train of thought. "Thought I might look into a few of the places I've heard about. Might be able to find out about rates and such. No use to mention it to anyone else 'til I know if it's doable." He smiled the lazy, slow smile that made River's heart beat faster. "Meantime, I can think of some other activities that might entertain Adam's mama."

"Sounds….intriguing," River said, leaning down to capture his lips and forestall any further conversation.

XXXXXXXXXX

Adam peered over the top of Hannah's crib, running his hands over Jayne's fine carving. "Daddy's gonna take us, Hannah," he whispered, excitement shining in his eyes. "Just like he said."

Hannah looked at her older brother solemnly through the slats of the crib as if she understood completely what he was saying. Rolling onto her stomach, she pulled her knees up under her and rocked back and forth before falling back onto her side.

"Don't worry," Adam said, pressing his face to the slats. "Crawlin's easy, once you get the hang of it." He paused for a moment. "Walkin' too. And runnin'. And talkin', with real words like everybody else. Once you can do that, everything's easy peasy." He reached his hand through the bars and patted his sister's chubby little arms. "I'll help you."

Hannah grinned toothlessly, grasping his larger fingers in her small fist.

"What are you doing, Adam?" Anya asked, slipping into the room. "You're supposed to be asleep."

"Hannah wanted to talk," Adam said, trying to stifle his sudden yawn.

"Well, you'll have to talk tomorrow," Anya replied with as authoritative a tone as she could manage. "It's an hour past your bedtime already, and now it's my bedtime too. I need to get into my pajamas."

Adam rubbed his eyes with his fists. "'Kay," he said, shuffling toward the door. "Night, Hannah. Night, Anya."

"Night," Anya said, holding onto the door. "See you tomorrow."

"Gonna be a surprise tomorrow, you know," Adam said, turning around to grin at her.

"What kind of surprise?" Anya asked.

"Not gonna tell, less'n I get to stay up some more." Adam eyed his friend mischievously.

"Not gonna work, Adam Reynolds," Anya said, though she could not suppress her own grin. "Guess I'll have to wait and hear it tomorrow."

Adam frowned. "But it's really the bestest surprise, Anya," he continued, widening his eyes and looking hopefully up at her.

"Tomorrow," she said firmly. "Want me to tuck you in?"

"Can do that my own self," Adam said, drawing himself up to his full height. "I ain't a baby, you know."

Anya put her hand on her hip. "That's good then. Go on to bed. You can tell me all about it in the morning." Watching for a moment to make sure the little boy headed to his own room, Anya could not help but wonder what tomorrow's surprise would be.

XXXXXXXXXX

Simon lay staring at the bulkhead and thinking about the woman lying in his arms. For all that he knew Kaylee would stand beside him no matter what the fates allowed, Simon was worried. It was not that they were arguing exactly, he thought tiredly. In fact, it occurred to him that perhaps a good fight would be a refreshing change from the delicate way they had been tiptoeing around each other since his return from the treatment facility.

Kaylee was, in large part, the person that kept Simon from slipping over the edge into addiction again. And yet, though she was his lifeline, Simon was reluctant to talk with his wife about his daily struggle to avoid temptation. The thought of disappointing her so completely chilled him to the bone and he could not bring himself to unburden his heart to her. It had crossed his mind more than once that Kaylee seemed just as determined as he did to avoid the subject at all costs.

It seemed to Simon that their conversations now revolved almost solely around Daniel or whatever was happening with someone else on the ship. And any time the discussion wandered into more personal territory, they both withdrew into a stilted silence like two wounded animals carefully circling each other.

Feeling the steady beat of her heart against his side, he closed his eyes and wondered how to span the distance that had come between them. And Kaylee, for her part, lay dreaming the restless dreams of a woman whose world had tilted dizzyingly off-kilter.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Just tell me what the problem is," Jim said, his brow wrinkled with concern. "I want to help you with whatever it is."

Zoe looked at him blandly. "I imagine I can handle it myself just fine," she said.

Jim ran his fingers through his blond hair, standing it up on end distractedly. "Didn't mean to imply otherwise," he sighed, wondering not for the first time how it was that Zoe could state a fact so calmly and still radiate such absolute annoyance. "Quite frankly, I can't imagine anything that you couldn't handle with one hand tied behind your back, standing on one foot, with one eye closed. But that fact does not in any way lessen my desire to help you."

Zoe drew a long, deep, cleansing breath. "I know that," she replied quietly. "But I'm not ready to talk about it just yet." Swallowing thickly, she added, "It's been a long while since I've been part of a…." She paused, strangely hesitant to say the word aloud.

"Part of a couple," Jim finished for her. "God, Zoe, you can't even say it." He looked at her in exasperation. Enfolding her in his arms, he felt the residual stiffness in her shoulders. "I mean to be here, with you, for as long as you'll have me. What else do I need to say to get you to confide in me?"

Zoe closed her eyes for a long moment. "What people mean to do and what ends up happening are sometimes a gorram 'verse apart." Hearing his quiet sigh, she pulled away and looked into his troubled blue eyes. "I just need some time to suss out this thing," she said more softly. "It isn't that I don't want to discuss it with you, but I just….can't right now."

Jim arranged his face into a pleasant smile, tamping down his own frustration. "Then I suppose I'll just have to wait until you can."

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal scowled at the Cortex screen, willing the numbers to add up differently.

"No luck?" River asked, floating into the cockpit and resting her hands on his shoulders.

"Only places I see are in the Core," Mal growled. "Not at all what I was aimin' for, and not near cheap enough for us to afford, even if I was of a mind to go that deep into the system." He leaned back, resting his head against her torso. "Least I hadn't said anything else to Adam about it."

River sighed. "Knows already."

Mal turned to look at her. "How? He been reading me again?"

River nodded. "Didn't mean to." Seeing Mal's jaw tighten, she added, "It's difficult for him to control it. Requires practice, and patience. Don't be angry with him."

"Ain't angry with him," Mal replied tiredly. "Just wish I didn't have to disappoint him is all." He thought fleetingly of how inconvenient rearing a Reader could sometimes be and quickly suppressed the thought.

"It will be all right, ai ren," River said softly. "Perhaps there will be another opportunity sometime."

Mal tapped the arm of the pilot's chair for a moment. "Could maybehaps be something else I could work out," he said, thinking aloud. "Might not be quite the thing I was lookin' for, but it might do 'til we can manage somethin' else." Leaning forward again in his chair, he turned back to the Cortex screen. "I know a fella' who might be just the one to talk to. And I conjure Monty would know how to get in touch with him."

River kissed the top of her husband's head. "Knew you would come up with a plan," she said, heading to the door.

"Yeah, well, don't count your chickens," Mal replied, busily typing in Monty's wave coordinates. "It's a long shot."

River grinned. "Always is," she replied. "Long shots are our specialty."

XXXXXXXXXX

Monty's face coalesced on the screen with a wide grin. "Mal," he said heartily. "Thought I might not be seein' you again any time soon, what with the Alliance still all twitchy and such."

"Good to see you too, Monty," Mal replied, grinning. "Takes more than some increased patrols to keep me down. You know that."

"That I do," Monty replied, stroking his beard.

"See you've managed to grow another soup-catcher," Mal said.

"No woman to stop me," Monty responded. "And I missed it when it was gone. Think it adds considerable to the look."

"Oh, I'd have to agree with that," Mal replied, smiling. "You wear it well."

Monty laughed. "Much as I'd like a good palaver with you, we'll be out of range in a few, so…"

"Just trying to figure how to get in touch with Lambert," Mal said quickly. "Thought you might have his location."

Monty nodded eagerly. "Has a farm out on Whittier nowadays."

"So I heard," Mal said. "You got a Cortex address for him? Thought I might go out for a visit."

Monty rummaged around on the desk in front of him. "Got it somewheres around here. Give me a minute." Mal nodded and watched in fond amusement as Monty scattered a mountain of little scraps of paper across his desk.

"Quite a filin' system you got there, Monty," he said wryly.

Monty held up a scrap triumphantly. "Works well enough for me," he said, grinning.

"Ready?"

Mal nodded once again as Monty rattled off the Cortex address. "'Preciate it," he said after repeating it.

Monty inclined his head. "Tell him I asked after him," he said. "Hadn't seen that boy in more'n three years now."

"Will do," Mal said just as the screen went black. Thinking that Monty had not been exaggerating when he had said his ship would be out of range in a few minutes, Mal sat back in his chair and thought about the man he was about to contact. Wondering if he had changed as drastically as Mal himself had over the years, he tapped in the wave coordinates and waited for Lambert to answer.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	2. Chapter 2

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part II—Palaver**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Mal talks to Lambert, then has a talk with Serenity's crew.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Am I lookin' at Sarge?" David Lambert asked, squinting at the Cortex screen with genuine amazement.

"Not a Sargeant anymore," Mal said, smiling widely. "Case you ain't noticed, the war's over."

Lambert shook his head. "Not the way I hear it," he said. "I know Whittier's a pretty fair piece from the Core, but I still catch the news now and again. Lot of gearin' up's goin' on for what's supposed to be peacetime, from what I gather."

Mal shrugged, uneasy with the subject. "Alliance does like to make its presence known. Nothing new in that," he said with a tinge of bitterness in his tone.

"Thought when I saw it was you that you might be gettin' a few folks back together as might be of a similar mind regarding our illustrious government," Lambert said, letting the unspoken question hang in the air.

"Nothing like that," Mal said quickly. "In point of fact, I got a better proposition in mind, one that ain't like to get us all corpsified."

Lambert leaned closer to the screen. "Like what, Sarge?"

"First off, how's about you call me Mal now?" Mal replied. When Lambert nodded, he continued, "Heard tell you're runnin' a farm."

"Yep," Lambert replied. "Not the largest one on Whittier by a gorram sight, but it's home anyway. 'Course, if'n it was any larger, I wouldn't have the men to help me keep it runnin'. All I can do right now to see to the crops and tend to the cattle."

"Maybehaps I can help you out with that," Mal said, warming to his subject. "Got a family now, a wife, two little ones, and a small crew."

Lambert snorted. "Yeah, I've heard a little about you and your crew. Believe it or not, even Whittier saw the Miranda wave and all the go se that went on after."

Mal looked at him in surprise, still amazed that Serenity's crew had somehow managed to become something of a legend out on some of the Rim worlds. "That a problem?"

"No problem here, Sar…I mean, Mal," Lambert replied. "Was right proud to know you were involved, point of fact. Gave me braggin' rights down at the pub in the settlement."

It was Mal's turn to snort. "Must not take a lot to impress the townsfolk." After pausing for a moment, he continued, "Anyway, thing is that we've been out in the Black for awhile, and I've been thinkin' it might be a good thing to be dirtside for awhile. Not long, of course, just for a short spell. Thinkin' that I'd like my young-uns to see the doin's on a farm. 'Course, we'd pay you for the room and board, and help you work the land whilst we're there. That is, if you have space enough for us, and the inclination to have company for a couple of weeks."

Lambert sat back in his chair. "I'd be right honored if you'd come," he said seriously. "Be pleased to introduce my wife to the man that saved my pi gu repeatedly in the war. Won't be needin' no payment, and you ain't got to work for it neither."

Mal shook his head. "There's too many of us to just set up housekeepin' without some kind of reimbursement. What you offered is a kindness, but I'd feel better about it if we can pay our way. Of course, the little ones can't work, but there are four able-bodied men on this boat that can ease your workload, plus several women who can work circles around most anybody I've run into. Twelve of us all together."

"All right, Mal, whatever you say. I see you're still as stubborn as the last time I saw you," Lambert said, holding up his hands. "When can I tell the woman of the house to expect you?"

Mal consulted the navigational system. "Should be there in a couple of days' time, if that's all right with you."

"Fine," Lambert nodded enthusiastically. "I'll look forward to it. Zoe still travelin' with you?"

"That she is," Mal replied.

"Well, it'll be a fine thing to see her again as well," Lambert said. "She did her fair share of savin' me too."

Mal chuckled. "Seems I recall as much," he said. "Anywhere in particular you want us to land? Don't want to be in the way of what needs doin'."

"Got a field lying fallow this year on the east end of the property," Lambert replied. "That would be a fine spot."

When Mal had the coordinates, he smiled at his old comrade. "Well, then we'll be seeing you in a few days."

"Looking forward to it," Lambert replied.

Mal cut the transmission and leaned back in his chair. Letting out a slow breath, he thought about how to tell his crew that he had just signed them on as farm hands for two weeks.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jayne leaned back in the galley chair with his arms folded across his chest. "So we're gonna take up farmin' now?"

His tone set Mal's teeth on edge. "Ain't nothin' wrong with farmin'," he replied evenly.

"Ain't nothin' wrong with a lot of things I got no intention of doin'," Jayne said, bristling.

Adam looked from his father to Jayne with huge, worried eyes. "It's just for two weeks," he whispered, looking at the large man pleadingly. "Daddy said we could go to a ranch sometime. He promised." Jayne found it very difficult to maintain irritation when looking at the little boy, a fact which Adam was currently using to his advantage. "'Sides, I'm gonna be helpin' with the work. Daddy said I could."

Jayne's mouth twitched into a smile despite his best effort. "Well, if'n you're gonna be doin' the heavy liftin', I reckon I can go."

Adam grinned and climbed into Jayne's lap. "We got us a deal," he said solemnly.

Mal turned to the rest of the crew. "So, I'm thinkin' that if any of you want to bow out of this little adventure, we'll be passin' some worlds where you could take your ease 'til we could get back."

Kaylee looked up worriedly. "Don't much like the idea of us splittin' up. Seems like when we do that, there's always somethin' terrible happens. Right, Simon?"

Simon looked at his wife and sighed. "That does tend to happen," he said, dreading the thought of spending two weeks on some backwater planet doing manual labor.

"And the fresh air'll be good for Daniel, and the other young-uns," Kaylee continued.

Mal smiled, wondering once again how it was that Kaylee could turn a potentially ugly mood into sunshine. "Zoe, how about it?" he asked.

"Wouldn't be averse to seein' Lambert again," his first mate replied blandly.

"Jim?" Mal asked.

"She goes, I go," Jim said, shrugging. "I've had plenty of practice with farmin'. Got no problems with it."

"'Nara?" Mal looked at her quizzically.

"Well, it will be a new experience for me," Inara said with as much grace as she could manage. "Might be…educational."

Kaylee wrinkled her nose. "Much more fun than that," she said. "Think of the hayrides, and the dances…."

"Don't know as we'll be there long enough for all that," Mal said, smiling.

"But there'll be horses, right?" Anya asked, excited by the prospect.

"And cows?" Adam added.

"Yes, horses and cows and pigs and chickens and all sorts of other animals, I conjure," Mal said.

"Wabbits?" Daniel asked.

Everyone stopped and looked at the little boy, who had rarely spoken in front of them all before. Daniel stared back at them calmly.

Simon cleared his throat. "Yes, I would imagine there might be rabbits," he said.

Daniel grinned. "Wabbits," he said contentedly, leaning back against Kaylee's chest.

"So I take it we're all agreed then? No need to detour to drop folks off?" Mal asked, giving Jayne one of his best Captainy looks.

When the mercenary nodded grudgingly, River stood up, bouncing Hannah on her hip. "I'll go plot the course," she said, giving Mal a quick peck on the cheek. "Knew you'd work it out," she whispered as Mal took his daughter from her arms.

"We'll see," Mal replied softly, watching his crew disperse.

XXXXXXXXXX

Lily Lambert looked at her husband in shock. "You said yes?" she asked incredulously.

Lambert's jaw tightened. "Yes, Lily, I did."

"And you didn't tell him about what's been happening here?" she went on.

"No."

"But honey, you've always spoken so highly of Malcolm Reynolds, and Zoe too for that matter. How could you not warn them?" Lily drew herself up to her full height of five feet. "What if something happens while they're here? They have little ones with them, for God's sake."

Lambert let out a long breath. "Maybe nothing will happen, Lily. They'll only be here for a couple of weeks."

Lily looked at her husband sadly. "You don't really think we'll be that blessed, do you?" she asked tiredly. "I can't even remember the last time we had two weeks of peace. And especially now that the….."

David held up his hand to forestall her next words. "Could be that we'll be lucky," he insisted. After a moment, he said softly, "And even if we're not, won't hurt to have a man like Malcolm Reynolds on our side, things get uglier than they have been." Seeing Lily's horrified look, he added, "Could be just the thing to turn things in our favor. 'Specially if he's bringing Zoe and four men with him. Hell, Zoe alone…"

Lily interrupted him. "But honey, what kind of people are we, that we would let them just land in the middle of this mess?"

"Desperate people," David said firmly, looking at his wife with an unwavering gaze.

Lily's mouth snapped shut. She could think of nothing else to say in the face of her husband's disheartening admission. Squaring her shoulders, she said, "I'll get the spare rooms made up for them. 'Spect we'll need to get some of the out cabins ready too."

David nodded, pulling his wife into his arms. "I know it ain't right, Lily," he said softly. "But you're the one always sayin' that things happen for a reason. Could be that their coming might be the answer to our prayers."

"I hope so, honey. I really do," Lily said, laying her head on her husband's chest and wondering how their once peaceful lives had become so fraught with danger at every turn.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	3. Chapter 3

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part III—Preparations**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Everyone gets ready for Serenity's arrival on Whittier.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe sat on the edge of her bunk, looking intently at the toes of her boots as if she might find an answer there. She knew the real answer she sought lay in the infirmary cabinet waiting for her, but she could not bring herself to walk the distance to the infirmary, much less to ask Simon for his help. She'd never been the kind of person to back away from a problem, figuring it best to soldier through than to sit about moping like a gorram idiot child. But this was different. This was something that could potentially change her life from this moment forward, something that she might not know how to handle once she knew for sure. And so she sat, staring at her boots.

"Mama?" Anya said softly, slipping quietly into the room. "Whatcha' doin'?"

Zoe shook her head as if to clear her thoughts. "Just sitting for a minute," she said. "Once we get to Whittier, might not be a lot of time for just sitting. Farm work don't allow for much of that, as I understand it."

Anya smiled sunnily. "I just finished packing for the trip," she said. "I think I got everything I'll need, but if you wouldn't mind looking behind me…."

Zoe rose, straightening her shoulders. "Of course," she said. "'Spect when I'm done, I'll need to do some packing of my own. Haven't really thought about it."

Anya looked up at her mother worriedly. "Is everything all right, Mama?"

"Everything's shiny," Zoe said, forcing her lips into a reassuring smile. And it really would be, she told herself fiercely as she followed Anya back to her room.

XXXXXXXXXX

Kaylee held up a tiny pair of overalls for Simon to see. "Told you we'd find a use for these," she said happily. "Daniel will be so cute in these on the farm."

Simon smiled at his wife. "I must admit, I would never have imagined we'd end up dressing him for farm work," he said, looking through his own clothes with a critical eye. "Perhaps we should have picked up a pair for me as well."

Kaylee giggled, the mental picture of Simon in a pair of overalls absurd somehow. Simon frowned, coming to the end of his clothing choices. "I'm serious, Kaylee. I don't have anything….appropriate for a farm."

Kaylee snorted, pushing her husband gently to the side. "Oh honey, everything's appropriate on a farm," she said, beginning to rummage through his things. Frowning as she, too, came to the end of his choices, she looked up at him apologetically. "I see what you mean. Could be that the Cap'n or Jim have some things they could loan you."

Simon scrubbed his hands across his face. "Yes, that's just the way I'd like to start this little excursion….in a pair of Mal's trousers."

Kaylee bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Might want to ask Jim for the trousers," she said, the merriment seeping into her voice despite her best effort. "Cap'n's pants might not fit you quite as well."

"Why do I feel an insult in that statement somehow?" Simon murmured, though he was secretly delighted that Kaylee was giving him a genuine smile unhampered by the distance that had crept up between them recently.

Kaylee wrapped her arms around her husband, her wide green eyes dancing with amusement. "No need to be insulted, bao bei. I like your pants just fine like they are."

XXXXXXXXXX

Inara was having a similar problem. While she had been on any number of ranches with the more rural of her clients, she had never been to a farm with the intent to blend in with the people who actually worked the land. She pulled a pair of pants from the back of her closet with a sigh. "What do you think? Will these do?" she asked, holding them up to her waist.

Jayne turned from his own packing to look at Inara. "Reckon so," he said. "Can you sit a horse in them?"

"Of course," Inara replied, well-schooled in equestrian activities.

Jayne shrugged. "If'n you can wear it to ride, I don't see why you couldn't wear it anywhere on a farm," he said. "After all, ain't nobody but the cows to impress on a farm."

Inara raised one delicate eyebrow, wondering exactly when her life had changed so drastically that she was asking Jayne for fashion advice. Pulling a few more pants from the back of her closet, she laid them neatly in a travel trunk.

Jayne, on the other hand, was busily stuffing his duffel with ordinance. "Are you expecting a fight?" Inara asked.

"Always," Jayne replied, not the least bit chagrined.

Inara peered into the duffel bag, wrinkling her nose at the musty smell that assaulted her. "There won't be any room for clothes in here at this rate," she said, smiling.

"Don't need much. Coupla' pairs of pants, few shirts. I can stuff 'em in well enough," he said, grinning at Inara's look of horror. "We can't all be dandified," he added. "'Sides, bein' as how I'll most like be carryin' all your bags, that'll only leave me a little room to carry mine."

Inara smiled prettily, looking up at him with her bewitching, brown eyes. "Since you put it that way," she said. "I wholeheartedly agree with your wardrobe choices."

XXXXXXXXXX

"You're welcome to them, Simon," Jim said, handing Simon three pairs of pants.

"Thank you," Simon said. "I wouldn't normally ask, but since we're not going to be stopping anywhere along the way to shop, I…"

"It's okay, doc," Jim said, raising his hand to forestall further discussion. "Work you normally do doesn't require the kind of clothing that works for a farm. Just glad I had something that would fit."

"Well, if there's anything I can do to return the favor, please don't hesitate to ask," Simon replied, turning toward the door.

Jim cleared his throat nervously. 'Well, actually, there is something."

Simon turned back to look at Jim. "What is it?"

Jim shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Well, I was just wondering….wondering if Zoe has been by the infirmary lately?"

"What do you mean?" Simon asked, his brow furrowing in confusion.

"I was wondering if perhaps Zoe had been to see you for a…checkup or….anything lately."

"Is there something wrong with Zoe?" Simon asked quickly, slipping instantly in doctor mode.

"No, no, nothing like that," Jim answered. "Well, I mean…I don't think so."

"Okay, I'm confused," Simon said as if speaking to a small child. "Is there some reason you're asking me about this?"

"She's not right," Jim blurted out. "Something's bothering her, and she won't tell me what it is."

"I'm sure if it were anything serious, she'd tell you," Simon began.

"Well, I am less than sure about that," Jim said, defeat lacing his tone. "I mean, I'd like to think so, but Zoe can be so…." He paused for a moment, gesturing weakly with his hands. "So closed. It's hard to know what's going on with her."

Simon nodded sympathetically, thinking that he was in no position at this point to give relationship advice. "If it will make you feel better," he offered, "I'll keep an eye on her. Perhaps see if she'll come in for a routine check."

"I'd appreciate it, Simon," Jim said earnestly. "Would be a load off my mind."

"Of course," Simon said, smiling encouragingly.

XXXXXXXXXX

"All packed?" Mal asked, stepping down into the bunk he shared with River.

"Almost," River replied, eyeing the pile of clothes on their bed carefully. "The travel case is….problematic."

"That your fancy way of saying that you don't have space to put my clothes in?" Mal asked, slipping his hands around her waist and pulling her backward against him.

River grinned, wiggling against him playfully. "Perhaps," she conceded.

"Be a shame for me to have to go naked whilst we're there," Mal murmured against her ear, sending a shiver of pleasure through her.

"Could be a good thing," River replied, reaching up behind her to cradle the side of his face in the palm of her hand.

Mal turned his lips to the hollow of her hand and kissed it gently. "Might get us kicked out 'fore Adam gets to see the cows if that happens," he said softly.

Turning in his arms to face him, River said, "Don't want to share the sight of you with anyone else anyway. I suppose I'll have to find a space for your clothes somewhere."

"Might be best," Mal replied, his lips ghosting along River's collarbone as he pulled her closer to him. "'Course, if there's a swimmin' hole on the land, we might have to revisit the whole clothes thing. Ain't been skinny-dippin' for longer than I'd care to say, but I can just picture you in the moonlight, with nothing on but a ….."

River raised up on tiptoe to still his speech with a kiss, deciding that action was preferable to conversation, at least for the moment.

XXXXXXXXXX

Lily Lambert smoothed the freshly laundered sheets down over the old mattress carefully. She had been hard-pressed to find enough linens for the guests that were coming, as she and David had never entertained quite so many at the time since coming to Whittier. Of course, she'd fed and housed her fair share of men that came through in time for the harvest seasons, but they usually brought their bedrolls with them, making their way through the countryside going from farm to farm until the crops were in.

She sat down on the bed tiredly, thinking about those earlier care-free days on Whittier. There would doubtless be no men coming to help with the harvest this year, as traveling now through the countryside was likely as not to be deadly. Lily's brow knitted with worry. David had said there were little ones among their arriving guests, and Lily could not bear the thought of any harm befalling a helpless child. Bad enough to think about what might happen to the adults, she thought with a genuine sense of foreboding.

Pulling herself up with the same determination that got her through every day of this nightmare, she shook out an old quilt of her mother's to cover the sheets. Patting it into place, she turned to look at the cabin with a critical eye. She had worked feverishly since sun-up to get the cabins ready, and now it was nearly noon. David would be coming in from the far fields today, and she knew he would be famished. He was working far too hard, pushing his body every day to the limit. And while she told him repeatedly that he needed to slow down, David always responded that it was impossible, considering the work that needed to be done and the hands they'd already lost.

"Gorram it, Lily," she heard from the doorway, the sound of David's angry voice causing her to jump in startled surprise. "You know it ain't safe to come out here alone."

"Couldn't rightly ask you to loan me one of the hands to come with me," she replied as calmly as she could considering the way her heart was hammering against her chest. "And the work needed doing before Mr. Reynolds arrives."

David took her into his arms, his hands still trembling from residual fear. "I know that, Lily," he said tenderly. "But when I got back to the house and you weren't there, I just thought……I was worried that……"

"I know," Lily replied softly, kissing her husband's cheek. "I worry the same way every time you head out to the far fields. Never sure if you're gonna be coming back to me." Her voice broke, the tension of the past two years stretching tightly across her pretty face. "Don't know how much longer I can stand it," she whispered against his chest.

David drew a ragged breath. "We'll figure something, bao bei. Soon's Sarge and the others leave, we'll figure some way to handle this."

Lily sighed. "How, David? We've done nothing for the past two years but think about it, worrying at it like a dog with a bone. And it's just getting worse all the time. Three men gone last month alone."

David had no reply. Slipping his hand over hers, he turned toward the door. "Just don't come back out here alone. Couldn't bear the thought of what might happen to you. I need to know you're safe. Dong ma?"

Lily nodded. "Best we be getting back to the house. I know you must be hungry," she said, squeezing his hand. And as they walked home, she mercifully resisted the urge to point out that none of them were truly safe, no matter where they were on the farm.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	4. Chapter 4

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part IV—Introductions**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Serenity sets down on Whittier, and Mal and David have a reunion.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal saw River's frown from across the bridge. "What's the matter, bao bei?" he asked quickly.

River shook her head, looking intently at the console. "Don't know," she said as she punched in a sequence of instructions. "We are coming up on the Whitter settlement now, and according to my sensors, there is very little activity on the ground."

"Whittier ain't exactly a thriving metropolis," Mal pointed out, coming to stand behind her and look at the readings for himself.

"Still, one would expect more than what I see," River replied.

"Check the Cortex to see if there's anything out there we should know about," Mal replied. Even though he'd spoken to David just two days ago, he knew all too well that a lot could go wrong on a planet in that much time.

River rapidly looked through the Cortex bulletins for anything about Whittier. "There are no warnings issued," she said. "Nothing to indicate that there is any problem for travelers to worry about."

Mal walked back to the co-pilot's chair and punched in the wave coordinates for Lambert. After several minutes, a small woman appeared onscreen. "I'm sorry, ma'am," Mal began. "I was trying to get to David Lambert."

The woman smiled. "You did. I'm David's wife, Lily. What can I do for you?"

"Pleased to meet you, ma'am," Mal said. "I'm Captain Reynolds."

"Oh," Lily said in surprise. "Somehow I was expecting a much older man." She blushed and paused for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. "We were expecting you this morning. Is everything all right?"

Mal nodded. "Everything's shiny," he said. "Just making sure everything's okay at your end."

For a split second, Mal got the distinct impression that Lily was uncomfortable, but in a moment, she smiled pleasantly. "Everything's fine, Captain Reynolds. In fact, the reason David's not here is that he's gone out to meet your ship. He should be there by now, waiting for you."

Mal's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Didn't have to go to all that trouble," he said. "I conjure we'd have found our way to you without an escort."

Once again he caught the faintest trace of unease in the woman's face. "Was no trouble," she assured him. "David is eager to see you again. And I am eager to meet you and your family in person as well."

"Should be there in…." Mal paused, looking over at River, who held up five fingers. "About five minutes."

"I'll look forward to seeing you shortly then," Lily said, cutting the transmission quickly.

Mal turned to River. "She seem a mite….nervous to you?"

River nodded. "Perhaps she's not used to so many people coming at one time," she said, shrugging. "I don't imagine they get a lot of guests out this far."

"Could be that's all it is," Mal murmured. Clearing his throat, he continued, "Still, just in case, think maybehaps we oughta' stay sharp."

River's eyebrow rose delicately. "Always do," she replied, turning back to the console to concentrate on landing.

XXXXXXXXXX

Serenity's ramp lowered slowly and Mal squinted in the sudden sunlight of midday. Taking a step forward, he saw David Lambert swing down from a horse some distance away. Turning to grin at Zoe, he murmured, "Looks a mite older than he did last time we saw him."

Zoe nodded. "Stands to reason, seeing as how we haven't seen him since the camps."

Mal stepped down the ramp, meeting his old friend at the bottom.

"Good to see you, Sarge," David said, enthusiastically pumping Mal's proffered hand. "And Zoe, you too."

Zoe inclined her head slightly as the rest of the crew stepped into the light. Mal made short work of introducing everyone on board and David introduced the men he'd brought with him as well.

"Hope everyone can sit a horse," their host said, eyeing the crew skeptically. "I'm afraid you'll find our farm kinda' rustic, you might say. No means of transport other'n horses."

"No problem," Mal said easily. "Only ones can't handle horseflesh are the little ones, and they can ride with us, right, son?"

Adam looked up at his father, eyes shining with excitement. "Yes sir," he said, near to bursting with the thought of actually being in the saddle with his father.

David smiled. "Fine looking family you've got, Sarg…I mean Mal." He paused, looking slightly sheepish. "Callin' you by your given name takes a mite gettin' used to."

"'S'all right," Mal replied, taking the reins of the horse offered to him. "We're all just folk now. Mind giving Adam a leg up?"

David picked Adam up and handed him to his father. Adam bounced happily in the saddle in front of his father, obviously not at all intimidated by the size of the animal. Mal whispered in his ear, "Gotta be still-like on a horse, son. They don't much like ya' to bounce on 'em." Adam stilled immediately, though Mal could still feel the restless energy just below the surface of his son. "Once everybody's settled, we'll ride," he said, smiling.

Looking around, Mal realized that everyone was already settled, with the exception of Anya, who stood looking worriedly at the only horse left.

David smiled. "Don't you ride, little miss?"

"No sir," she replied. "No where to learn how out in the Black."

Jim leaned forward in his saddle, offering her a hand. "You can ride with me," he said, adjusting his position in the saddle. "Just hang on once you're on."

Anya swung up behind Jim and held tightly to his midsection. "You sure this is safe, Uncle Jim?" she asked, her voice much smaller than usual.

"Positive," he said, grinning. "Courted many a young girl by lettin' her hold tight to me on a horse."

"That a fact?" Zoe asked, coming up beside them on her own mount. "Have to tell me about that sometime."

Jayne chuckled at the exchange, but David interrupted them, saving Jim the need to answer. "Farm is about five miles east of here. 'Spect Lily'll be eager for us to get back. It'd be best if we go now."

"Lead the way," Mal replied, nodding. Noting that his friend's men were fanning out around them as they traveled, he maneuvered his horse to walk alongside his host. "Sort of surprised you brought so many of your hands to meet us," he said casually. "From what you said earlier, I would have thought you didn't have that many men to spare."

David studiously kept his eyes on the path, not willing to meet Mal's inquisitive eyes. "Oh, there's always plenty of work to be done. But I thought it might be good to have a few men with me when you arrived."

"Expectin' some kind of trouble?" Mal asked, a vague sense of unease skittering down his spine.

"Why do you ask?" David replied, putting as much confidence in it as he could manage.

"No reason, other than that they're all armed a little more than I'd expect field hands to be," Mal said reasonably. "And they keep looking around like they expect someone to ambush us any minute."

David shifted in his saddle. "Just being cautious is all," he said finally. "There have been a few incidents on some of the outlying farms. But nothing to really worry over."

Mal looked at the tight line of Lambert's jaw. "What kind of incidents?" he pressed.

David turned to look at him. "The kind best not repeated around tender ears," he replied finally. "But as I said, nothing to worry about today. Let's just talk about it later."

Something in his eyes silenced Mal's next question. "Whatever you say," he said, turning back to look at the trail. But he could not ignore the niggling worry that was making his hackles rise. And five miles suddenly seemed much longer than it had before.

XXXXXXXXXX

Lily stood at the window, looking to the west anxiously until she could see horsemen coming toward the house. Running out into the yard, she shaded her eyes against the glare of the sun and and tried to pick her husband out of the group. When she was satisfied that he was one of them, her heart began to pound a little less fiercely in her chest.

Hurriedly moving back into the cool interior of the house, she checked on the bread baking in the oven for dinner. Pleased that it was baking to a golden brown, she quickly set out glasses and a pitcher of milk with a heaping tray of cookies, figuring that the children in particular would be thirsty and hungry after their ride.

Looking over her preparations with a practiced eye, she pushed the strands of hair that had fallen out of her bun back into place and smoothed her skirt. She heard the sound of conversation in the yard, and taking a deep breath, she opened the door to receive her guests, all the while saying a little prayer of thanksgiving that they had made it safely to the house.

"Mal, this here's my wife, Lily," David said, looping his arm around her waist proudly.

"Yes, we've met," Mal replied, taking her small hand in his larger one.

"You have?"

"He waved earlier to confirm that everything was all right," Lily replied, a spark of reproach in her eye that only David could discern. "After you had already left to meet him." Turning back to Mal, she said, "It's a pleasure to meet you in person, Captain."

River came to stand beside Mal, looking intently at the woman. "And this is River, my wife," Mal said. "And my little one, Hannah."

Lily nodded, hiding her surprise at the obvious age difference between the Captain and his young wife. Leaning down to ruffle Adam's hair, she said, "And you must be Master Reynolds."

"I'm Adam," he replied, grinning widely.

"Well, Adam, if you'll walk through that door there," she said, pointing toward the kitchen, "I think you and the other children will find some fresh baked cookies and maybe a glass of milk waiting for you."

Adam looked up at Mal hopefully and Mal nodded. Pulling Anya behind him eagerly, Adam walked rapidly into the kitchen and squealed with delight at the sight before him. Lily smiled, quickly finding out the names of her other guests. Observing Jayne's look of longing toward the kitchen door, she grinned. "I expect there are enough cookies for you as well, if you'd like, Mr. Cobb."

Jayne grinned widely, instantly taking a liking to the little woman. "Ain't smelt anything like them cookies for a long while," he said, eager as any of the children.

"Go ahead." Lily shooed them all toward the kitchen. "There's plenty to go around."

As the others were herded into the kitchen, Mal hung back, pulling David to the side. "Wouldn't mind hearing about those 'incidents' you referred to," he said.

David sighed. "It's a long story, Mal. How about we get everybody settled in and have supper 'fore we get into it? Be a kindness to me not to have to think on it tonight. Tomorrow'll be soon enough."

Not wanting to press his host any farther than necessary, Mal acquiesced, though he was now even more determined to get to the bottom of whatever David was avoiding so studiously. "Tomorrow then," he said firmly, not hesitating to use the Sargeant's tone that David remembered so well.

"Tomorrow," David agreed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"How many'd you see?" the old man asked, spitting into the fire.

"A goodly number," the young man replied. "Four men, four women, and a young girl. Three babes too."

"Boys or girls?"

"Couldn't tell from where I was about two of 'em, but the oldest of the babes looked to be a boy," the younger man answered.

"And they met up with the farmer and his men?"

"Yep, and then they all headed back toward the house."

The old man gazed into the fire, pondering the news. "Look healthy?"

The younger man nodded. "One and all."

"Any of the women with child?" the old man asked, looking at him with rheumy eyes.

"Not so as I could see."

The old man sniffled, rubbing the tip of his nose on his sleeve. "You done good. Call the others together. We'll be needin' more than just us."

The younger man nodded and hurried off into the twilight to gather the others.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	5. Chapter 5

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part V—Through the Long Night**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Night falls on the farm, but sleep eludes most of the adults.

XXXXXXXXXX

Lily lay beside her husband whispering in the dark. "What are you going to tell him?" she asked.

David sighed. "I don't know, Lily. It's obvious he realizes that something's not right, but…..if they're only gonna be here for a few days, I see no reason to scare them or ruin their stay."

"Well, we can't just let them wander about on their own without at least a warning," she said sadly. "They seem like such nice folks. And if anything should happen to them…."

David scrubbed his hands across his face in frustration. "S'pose I shoulda' just said no to 'im to begin with. Not let them come here."

"Why didn't you?" Lily asked kindly, genuinely curious.

David shook his head. "I don't know, sweetheart. Guess it was a lot of things. I'm proud of the farm, proud of the work we've done on it. More'n my daddy ever managed to put together in all his life, it is. And I respect Sarge, and Zoe. Guess I wanted to show 'em that I made good, that they did right by saving my pi gu all those times during the war, and after, in the camps." Lily lay quietly looking at her husband, willing him to continue. Taking a deep breath, he said, "And I suppose I thought we could carry it off without them noticin' the tension. Shoulda' known better. Both of them sharp as tacks, and me trying to hide the obvious."

"So, you're going to tell him everything tomorrow?" Lily asked.

Wrinkling his brow, David answered, "Why don't I just tell him enough so's he'll know not to let his people wander too far? That way, they still get to enjoy their time here, and nobody will get hurt."

Lily nodded. "Whatever you think, honey," she said. "Though I'm not convinced he'll believe a half-truth."

"Then I'll just have to be very convincing," David said, punching the pillow under his head. "Surely we can hold it together for two weeks."

Lily nodded, keeping her worries to herself.

XXXXXXXXXX

"She's afraid," River said, as soon as she was certain Adam and Hannah were asleep in the little trundle bed.

"Who?" Mal asked.

"Lily," River replied.

"Of what?" Mal looked at his wife intently.

River frowned. "Can't see it clearly," she answered after a moment. "Worried that something bad will happen. Especially to the children." She looked at her husband sadly. "She lost two of her own, you know," she said in a soft voice. "No doctor, and difficult deliveries. Almost died herself the last time."

"She told you that?" Mal asked.

River shook her head. "Saw it, in her mind. Always there, tingeing everything else….tangled up with whatever she fears now. I'm sorry I can't see it any more clearly than that, air en."

Mal nodded. "'S'all right, bao bei. I can tell David's skittish too. But we're gonna talk tomorrow. He says there have been some incidents on other farms that have got him worried. Best we keep sharp."

River nodded, combing out her long dark hair until it shone in the lamplight. "Hurt me to see Lily's grief," she admitted in a small voice. "Reminded me of Sam."

Mal came to stand behind his wife, wrapping his arms around her slender waist. "Wondered why you were so quiet at supper," he murmured against her hair. "I'm sorry, darlin'." He paused briefly before admitting, "I think about him too."

River laid her small hand over his larger one. "I know," she whispered, leaning into his warmth. "Feel that sometimes too."

They stood thus for a time, drawing strength from the bond they shared until the small lamp by their bed burned out.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe pulled the curtain around the small bed where Anya slept dreamlessly. Jim looked at her with more than a little doubt. "You sure you wouldn't rather me sleep on the bedroll?" he whispered. "I'm not wildly fond of the idea of Anya waking up to find me in your bed."

"Anya knows we share a bed on Serenity," Zoe replied calmly. "It's not like it is a surprise to her."

Jim shifted uncomfortably on his feet. "Well, knowing a thing and actually seeing it are two different things."

"You plannin' on ravishing me whilst we're here?" Zoe asked, the corners of her mouth twitching with a suppressed smile.

"Wouldn't be a bit averse to the idea," Jim answered. "But somehow I'd rather not give Anya more of an education than she needs at this point."

Zoe nodded. "Then I suggest you get into this bed and turn the other way," she said blandly. "Ain't intendin' to be cold tonight just because you've got a problem with having an audience."

"You make it sound like I'm some kind of prude," Jim protested as he climbed into bed wearing much more than usual.

Zoe chuckled, the sound setting Jim's blood flowing in the wrong direction. "Don't worry, Mr. Bowden," she said, turning on her side and presenting him with her back. "I won't take advantage of you, least not tonight."

Jim lay staring at the ceiling, his mind whirring with the sort of thoughts that were not conducive to falling asleep easily. After a few minutes, he said softly, "If we're not gonna be engaged in any….well, maybe it would be a good time to talk about what's been bothering you."

Zoe sighed, staring at the wall for a long moment before turning onto her back. "Think I'd rather give Anya an education than to talk about that right now."

"I'm serious, Zoe," Jim said, fixing her with an intent look as he turned to lean on one elbow. "This thing, whatever it is, is scaring the go se out of me. We don't need secrets between us. It's not right. In fact, to quote Jayne, it's downright unsettling."

Zoe returned his gaze steadily. "Well, if you're gonna quote Jayne to me until I tell you, I suppose I'd best get it over with." Drawing a deep breath, she began. "You know I love you, right?"

"Yes," Jim answered as evenly as he could. "Though in my experience when a conversation starts with those words, it generally ends not so pleasant-like."

Zoe swallowed thickly. "It's probably nothing," she continued. "But I haven't had a …..I think I might be pregnant," she finished, forcing the words out in a rush.

Jim reached for her instantly, relief flooding through him. "Well, that's just wonderful," he said, pulling her excitedly into his arms. "I mean, I've always…" His words trailed off as he saw the look on Zoe's face. "Oh," he said, his enthusiasm suddenly doused. "You….you don't think it's a good thing." He pulled away from her, feeling abruptly gut shot.

Zoe closed her eyes for a moment, not able to bear the stricken look on his face. "It ain't like that," she said, her throat tight with emotion. "Well, maybe it is like that. I don't know." She drew a deep breath. "When Wash was alive, there in the last few months, all I could think about was having his child," she said haltingly.

"But you don't want my child," Jim said, his voice rougher than he intended.

"I don't know," Zoe replied honestly. "And it ain't because of you. It's just…..I'm older now and…."

"Not old enough that it would be an issue," Jim replied softly.

"Maybe not physically," Zoe said, looking at him sadly. "But in here," she pointed to her heart. "I ain't sure I got it in me anymore to love something else that could be taken from me, bring a little one into the 'verse, knowing what can happen. I already have Anya to look after, and you to love and….." Her words trailed off, and she realized that she could not begin to articulate the conflicted feelings that coursed through her. "I know you don't understand," she said, reaching for Jim's hand. "Hell, I don't even understand it myself. I just….I'm just not sure."

Jim sighed, a little piece of his heart breaking. "I get it," he answered low. "At least, maybe a little. But it could be that you're not even pregnant. I mean, I know you haven't been to see Simon."

Zoe looked at him sharply. "And how do you know that?"

"I asked him," Jim replied unapologetically. "Was worried about you. And regardless of why I asked, the point is that you haven't been to see him. So you can't know for sure. Could be that you're worried over nothing."

Zoe could see the effort it cost him to say the words so calmly. "And if we find out I am pregnant?" she asked. "What then?"

Jim swallowed thickly. "Cross that bridge when we come to it," he said, unable to meet her eyes. They lay for a time in silence, both thinking of what crossing that bridge might mean. Finally, Jim said, "Have to admit that I'd like to know sooner rather than later."

Zoe nodded, squeezing his hand lightly. "There are kits in the infirmary on Serenity. Don't need to bother Simon with it just yet. We can ride out tomorrow morning and do the test ourselves, if you want."

"You're okay with me coming with you?" Jim asked hesitantly.

Zoe looked at him steadily, hoping that somehow he would understand what he meant to her no matter what course she decided to take. "Think I might be needing you there," she said softly.

Jim nodded, unable to speak past the lump in his throat. Pulling her closer to him, he embraced her, willing her to realize how very much he loved her in that moment.

XXXXXXXXXX

Two men lay looking over the hill at the cabins. "Looks like they're still up," one man whispered. "Lights are still on."

The other man nodded. "How many did you see?"

"Just a man and woman in the one closest to us," he replied. "Purty woman too. Looked all fancified. Makes a man just want to….."

The second man interrupted him. "What about the man?"

Dropping his flight into fantasy for the moment, the first man replied, "Big fella. Looks able to handle himself. Gonna have to be careful with that one."

A third man crept up to where the two men lay. "Looks to be a little family in the second cabin. Man, woman and a little 'un."

"Boy or girl?" the first man asked.

"Boy, I think," the third man replied. "Couldn't see him all that well, but he was wearing little overalls. Looked to be a boy."

"And the woman?" the second man asked.

"Good lookin'," the man replied, nodding. "Not much bigger than a minute, but we already know she can bear sons. And the man was slender. Didn't look like much of a fighter. Shouldn't be a problem."

"Less'n they're armed," the first man said warningly.

"Now, why would they be armed?" the second man replied. "Just enjoyin' a little trip to the farm and all." He smiled thinly, no merriment in the expression.

"That don't account for but five. Thought there was supposed to be more," the first man said.

"Others are bunked in the main house, with the farmer and his purty little wife," the third man replied.

The first man nodded, seeing the last of the lamps in the cabins go out. "Looks like they're settlin' down now," he whispered. "Best we get a little closer and see what's what 'fore we go back. Cyrus'll want to know every detail 'fore sun-up."

The others nodded silently and stealthily began to move toward the cabins.

XXXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	6. Chapter 6

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part VI—Taking the Tour**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Mal and David tour the farm and have a serious talk, while Zoe and Jim go to the infirmary.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal awoke to two things he'd long gone without, the sound of a rooster crowing and the feel of sunlight on his face. Stretching on the soft down mattress, he looked over at River. Her long, dark hair fanned out across the pillow and she stirred slightly.

"Stop the rooster," she mumbled, stretching like a cat.

Mal laughed. "Don't like the wake-up call, huh? Maybe you'd prefer the proximity alarm on Serenity."

River snorted. "Would prefer to sleep longer. She closed her eyes, curling back into the softness of the bed.

"Mama," Adam said, tugging at her arm impatiently. 'We're on a farm. Gotta get up with the chickens, Daddy says."

Shooting her husband a withering glance and receiving a smug grin in return, River sat up and pulled Adam into the bed between them.

"You ready to see some chickens, little one?" Mal asked.

Adam nodded enthusiastically. Picking up Hannah, Mal kissed the top of her head gently before handing her to River. "That bacon I smell?" he asked, sniffing the air appreciatively.

"And coffee," River said dreamily. "Smells like genuine coffee."

"That enough of an incentive to get up?" Mal asked, buttoning his shirt and pulling up his suspenders.

"It is sufficient," River confirmed, grinning.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Don't know when I've had such a feast for breakfast," Mal said, swinging himself up into the saddle.

"Glad you enjoyed it," David replied. "Lily's the best cook on Whittier, and I ain't just sayin' it either," he said proudly. "Anytime there's a fair in the settlement, her jams and jellies always win blue ribbons."

"Can see why," Mal replied, his mouth watering again at the memory of her biscuits slathered with homemade jam.

"Listen Mal, I'm sorry that I didn't want Adam to come along to see the farm just now," David said, drawing a deep breath. "I saw how his little face fell at the table when he found out he couldn't come. But…." He paused briefly. "I didn't want him to have to hear what we gotta talk about."

Mal nodded, nudging his horse along. "Tomorrow'll be soon enough for him to see the place. And he seemed excited enough when Lily offered to let him check for eggs in the henhouse and help her in the bean patch this morning. Besides, I wanted to talk with you alone too. Figure it's past time you tell me what's going on here."

David looked out at the trail in front of them. "Lily and I came here six years ago," he began. "The place was nothing but scrub brush back then. But there was a river flowing through it." He pointed to the south, where Mal could see a body of water in the distance. "Knew with that, I could make a living here, make a home for me and Lily."

"Sign over the corral says 'Journey's End'," Mal observed. "That the name you chose for the place?"

David nodded. "Named it that because, well, you know how it was in the camps. I ain't got to remind you, I'm fair certain. And after we were released, I couldn't settle down for a long time. Dragged Lily halfway to hell and back, needin' to put space between me and anybody like to be Alliance." He smiled slightly. "Lily, though, she was a trooper. Never complained, even when I'd wake her up in the middle of the night to move on to the next place. But after awhile, I needed to be still, put down some roots again. And when we found this place, it felt like home…the end of a long, hard journey. Only place I've wanted to be since the day I laid eyes on it."

"It's a good place," Mal agreed. "I can see why you'd love it so. Rich soil, abundant water, far enough from Alliance interference to be able to breathe free."

David nodded and, with the pride of a genuine farmer, began to show Mal the finer points of the place. They rode for some time, wandering the length and breadth of the farm as Mal made appropriately appreciative remarks along the way. "Looks close to paradise," he said as they turned to follow the path of the river.

"Was, for the first four years," David said. "Though we had our share of troubles. Lily lost two little ones in the first couple of years. First one was stillborn, though the second one lived almost a day. Buried over under that copse of trees," he said softly, gesturing toward them sadly.

"I'm sorry to hear that," Mal replied, a stab of pain going through his own heart as he thought about the child he and River had lost.

"Wasn't anything we could do," David continued haltingly. "No doctor on the planet." He sighed, shaking his head as if to clear his thoughts. "Point of fact, not much help of any sort in the settlement, even before…." His words trailed off.

"Before what?" Mal asked, realizing that David was finally coming around to the topic he'd been waiting to discuss all morning. "Before those 'incidents' you spoke of?"

"Yes, well, about those," David said, shifting uncomfortably in his saddle. "I don't know how much you know about the history of Whittier, I mean how it was settled and all."

"Next to nothing," Mal replied honestly.

"First settlers arrived about three hundred years ago," David said. "But there were problems. Nobody knows for sure what happened, but the government lost contact with the original settlers. They just….disappeared. Didn't seem to be anything wrong with the terraforming, so the government paid a new group of settlers to come out here. They built the settlement you saw on your way in."

Mal nodded. "Not much of a settlement, from the looks of it."

"Used to be a little better," David said, dreading his next words. "Up until about two years ago."

"What happened?"

"Folks started going missing," David said. "Just seemed to up and vanish in the night. Local authorities tried to find out what was happening, but folks got scared. Started all these rumors about how the first settlers musta' been took just like the ones that were disappearing. There got to be a kind of a panic. Folks wanting to leave, but having no way to get away from here."

"And the missing folks. Any of them ever show up?" Mal asked.

"A few," David confirmed. "Mutilated bodies, couldn't hardly recognize them. Men beat to death. Women raped and killed in awful ways. Needless to say, that made the situation much worse. Authorities tried to get some help from the Alliance, but we ain't heard a thing from 'em these last two years."

"Sounds about right," Mal said, bitterness coloring his tone.

"Folks are scared to leave their houses in the settlement," David went on. "That's why you didn't see much activity on the streets. Everybody thinks there are ghosts out there in the hills, claiming souls at their whim."

"And what do you think?" Mal asked, dismissing the superstitious notion immediately.

"I don't know," David replied honestly. "I mean, I know it ain't ghosts and such, but I got no kind of answer as to what it is. Mal," he said, turning to gaze at him intently. There's records of everyone on the transport ships that brought the settlers here. And the folks that are here can trace their families back to names on those records. Ain't nobody here that ain't accounted for. So you explain to me who's doin' this? Where did these people come from, if it ain't from the first set of settlers that came here?"

"But you said they went missing," Mal responded. "Didn't the government send folks to check on 'em before sending out another group of settlers?"

"That's just it," David said worriedly. "They did come, and they did check. According to the records, weren't no trace of the original group anywhere." Seeing Mal's expression, he added, "But whoever they are, we're safe enough out on the farm, so long as we stick close together. Most folks got taken were alone at the time. Whoever these people are, they don't like to show themselves."

"Tell me true, David," Mal said firmly. "How many men you lost?"

David's face turned a shade of red that had nothing to do with the sun. "Ten," he admitted. "Four in the last six months."

Mal felt anger rapidly replacing his worry. "And with ten people from your own farm missing, you didn't think it necessary to mention that little fact when I waved you? Knowin' that I had family with me?"

"I'm sorry, Mal. I truly am," David said, meeting his blazing blue eyes with difficulty. "Don't know what I was thinkin', truth be told."

Mal sighed, heading the horse back toward the house. They rode in an uncomfortable silence for several minutes before he spoke again. "And the men, did you find any of them?"

"No," David replied hoarsely. "Found some faint tracks. Followed them to the foot hills, but they ended there."

"And did you go up into the hills?" Mal asked, staring straight ahead.

"No," David admitted. "Couldn't find any men willin' to go with me. They're all too spooked to ride into a situation they don't know."

Mal pulled the reins of his mount, stopping the horse in the middle of the path. "And you thought if I came here I'd go with you?" he asked, realization dawning.

"No," David said quickly. "Not….well, I don't know what I thought, Mal. I been living with this thing hanging over me for two gorram years. Can't hardly think at all for the worry of it."

Mal urged his horse forward. After several more minutes of silence, he said, "I can't help you, David. Got a family of my own to see to. Ain't like to risk them gettin' hurt. Dong ma?"

"I understand, Mal," David replied solemnly. "'Spect you'll be wanting to leave then."

"Don't see as I can stay, given the circumstances," Mal replied, more gently than he would have thought possible. Turning in his saddle to look directly into David's eyes, he added, "Come with us," he said. "You and Lily, and your men, come with us. It'll be a tight squeeze, but Serenity can take us off this world and away from whatever this thing is. I'll see to it that you get to a safe place."

David smiled sadly, shaking his head. "Still willing to save my pi gu after the danger I've just put you in?" he said softly. "Can't do it, Mal. This place, this land, is all I got."

"That ain't strictly true," Mal replied, willing the younger man to think it through. "You got Lily, and she seems a fine woman. You willing to risk losing her to keep this land?"

David swallowed thickly. "I'd die if I lost Lily. Just curl up and die straight away. But we've sunk every last piece of coin we had into this place, and we got no way to just start over somewhere else."

"Don't be a fool, David," Mal said. "You're young yet. Got all manner of opportunities just waiting for you. And no need to stay here and get yourself killed."

David squared his shoulders. "I ain't aimin' to die any time soon, Mal. And I'm not leaving my land."

Hearing the finality in his voice, Mal nodded. "Think you're making a mistake," he said. "But there's no denyin' it's yours to make."

"Thank you, Sarge," David said, forgetting for a moment to call Mal by his name. "I appreciate the offer, at least. More'n most men woulda' done, given the circumstances. So," he paused. "When will you be leaving?"

"First light tomorrow," Mal replied. "That'll give us time to get everything packed and such."

David nodded, and the two men rode back the rest of the way in silence.

XXXXXXXXXX

Swinging down smoothly off his horse, Jim offered Zoe a hand. Rolling her eyes, Zoe said, "You're not gonna start coddlin' me and the like just because I might be pregnant, are you?'

"No," Jim replied evenly. "Just extending a hand, like any gentleman would do." Zoe snorted and punched in the sequence to disengage Serenity's locks. "What?" Jim asked, pretending offense to lessen the tension he felt. "I can be chivalrous."

"I know that, honey," Zoe said, looking at him blandly. "But right now, I'd like a little less chivalry and a little more getting to the infirmary."

Jim had no response to that, so he followed her onto the ship and to the infirmary silently. Zoe rummaged briefly through the cabinets until she found the test she sought. "You think you can draw the blood?" she asked, holding the syringe out to Jim.

"Think so," Jim said, his mouth suddenly very dry. "Did enough of that as a field medic."

Zoe rolled up her sleeve and extended her arm. "Then let's get this over with," she sighed.

Carefully, Jim inserted the syringe, pulling back the plunger to draw a small amount of blood. "That enough?" he asked.

"Should be," Zoe replied calmly, though her heart was beating more rapidly than she liked. Setting the blood into the lab equipment, she turned back to Jim.

"What now?" he asked.

"Now we wait," she replied, crossing her arms over her chest in an unconsciously defensive gesture.

Jim nodded, his own heart hammering wildly. Zoe turned sharply to look out the infirmary door. "Did you hear that?" she asked, peering into the shadows.

"What?" Jim asked, just as the sound was repeated.

"That," she said, fingering her Mare's leg.

Jim listened as the sound came again. "Yes," he said softly. "Sounds like we've got company."

"Wasn't expecting company," Zoe said evenly, looking at him as she drew her weapon and stepped outside into the corridor.

"Me neither," Jim replied, moving out into the corridor right behind her.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	7. Chapter 7

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part VII—Lost and Found**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Mal and David get back to the farm and discover that things have gone seriously amiss.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Captain Reynolds, David," Lily shouted, coming down the front steps with her hair flying wildly about her. "Thank God you're here."

Mal jumped off his horse, his heart pounding in his throat. "What's going on?" he asked, reaching the porch in two long strides.

"It's your wife," Lily said, grabbing his arm to lead him into the house. "She's had some kind of…fit. Your doctor's in there with her now."

Mal pushed past the small woman, running down the hallway to the room she indicated. Opening the door, he saw Simon bending over River, checking her vital signs. "What happened?" he asked, his throat tight with worry.

"I don't know, Mal," Simon replied. "Lily said they were in the bean patch with the children, and River just suddenly…..She saw something, Mal. She had to have seen something. Lily said she was flailing around wildly, mumbling something unintelligible. She sent Anya to get me. By the time I got there, River was…having a full-blown episode. I had to sedate her."

Mal swallowed thickly. "You know she can't stand it when you do that, Simon. You know it interferes with her abilities."

"I had no choice, Mal," Simon said. "It was bad, worse than it's been since Miranda."

Mal sank down onto the bed beside the still form of his wife. "And now?" he asked, taking her limp hand in his.

"She'll be fine," Simon said. "She'll probably be out for a couple of hours yet."

Looking at the deep lines etching Mal's face, he added, "I'm sorry, Mal. There was nothing else I could do."

"'S'all right, Simon. I'm sure you did just what you thought you had to do," Mal replied. "Only thing is that now we gotta wait to see what triggered it, whatever it was she saw."

Simon shifted uncomfortably. "There's something you should know. She said something, kept repeating it. She said that Serenity is bleeding."

Mal looked up at him sharply. "Anything else?"

Simon shook his head. "That's the only thing I could make out."

Lily stood in the doorway, wringing her hands nervously. "She said some other things too," she volunteered. "But they didn't make any kind of sense."

"Mrs. Lambert, anything you can remember would be a help to me," Mal said as calmly as he could manage.

Lily frowned, trying to remember the exact words River had muttered. "I can't remember exactly," she said haltingly. "But she said something about the warrior being pinned to the earth. Said there was darkness covering the goddess. Death pinning her wings. She was crying and rocking herself back and forth. I couldn't make out much more than that."

Cold dread ran down Mal's spine. "Simon, get Zoe and Jayne. We're riding out to Serenity."

Simon shook his head. "Zoe's not here, Mal. I sent Kaylee to find her, but she and Jim are gone. They apparently took a couple of horses and left right after breakfast. No one's seen them since."

"What about Jayne?" Mal asked, somehow dreading the answer.

"Inara said he left after breakfast as well. Told her he was going to ride the farm and take a look around for himself. She's gone out to look for him."

Mal rose quickly from the bed. "Alone?" he asked, startling Simon with the urgency of his tone.

"No," Simon replied. "Lily sent two of the farm hands with her so she wouldn't get lost."

"Where are the children?" Mal asked, as if the thought had just occurred to him.

"They're with Kaylee, in the kitchen," Lily said soothingly. "Adam was very upset to see his mother…like that, and we thought it best to distract them, if we could."

Mal nodded. "Thank you, Lily," he said a little hoarsely.

"What should we do now?" David asked from the doorway.

"I need to round up my people," Mal said without hesitation. "And considering what River said, we'd best check on the ship. How many men can you spare?"

"All of them," David replied.

"Mal, I think it's best for me to stay here with River," Simon said softly.

Mal nodded, looking back at David. "Pick your best man to stay here with the women and children. And give Simon a gun."

David nodded shortly, turning on his heels to gather his men for the search.

"Mal," Simon said as Mal headed toward the door. "What's going on here?"

"Got no kinda' time to explain, Doc," Mal replied. "Just look after my wife, and if you have to, be damn sure you shoot straight."

XXXXXXXXXX

David Lambert stood before the small group of men he had left. "Any of Captain Reynolds' folks you run into, bring 'em back to the house soon's you can get 'em here. I'm going with him to his ship, but Lily'll be here to take 'em in. And once you're back, you stay close to the house as well. Somethin's got Mrs. Reynolds spooked, and we need to suss out what it is 'fore dark. Dong ma?"

The men nodded silently, each dreading the thought of darkness falling on the ranch even more now than usual. "'Kay then, best we get to it," David said, mounting his own horse.

He tried to hide his worry for the sake of his men, but he couldn't help but wonder how many of them he would see again as they rode out in different directions to look for Serenity's people.

He turned his horse to follow Mal, who, unwilling to wait a moment longer, had left already. Urging his horse to a gallop, he caught up in short order. "Anything you want to tell me about your wife?" he asked.

Mal looked at him for a moment before turning back to the trail. "Nothin' comes to mind," he said finally.

"Mal, I saw how you looked at the doctor when he told you what she said. Seems to me you didn't dismiss it as a product of a seizure. You put stock in her words." Mal's jaw tightened, but he remained silent. David continued, "She's a Reader, ain't she? Sees things other folk can't see, right?"

"Why does it matter?" Mal asked. "Whether or not such a thing exists makes no difference right now."

"But if she saw something," David pressed, pushing his horse to keep up with Mal's. "Nobody's seen whatever's happening before. 'Least, nobody who lived to tell about it. If she can see things others can't, maybe she could describe what it is that is happening to all the missing folk. Might even could tell us where they are."

Mal's eyes flashed with blue fire. "Useful as she might be to you if she were a Reader, soon's my people are rounded up, we're gonna leave this place, David. Ain't gonna stick around to see what happens next."

Wisely, David held his tongue until they saw Serenity in the distance. "Ramp's down," Mal murmured, squinting to get a better view. "Ship was locked up tight when we left her."

David nodded. "Don't see any horses about, nor anybody milling around outside. Whoever's been here is either still inside, or they're long gone."

Mal nodded, slowing his horse to a trot. "Best we leave the horses here, and go on to the ship on foot. Situation seems to call for a little quiet reconnoitering."

David nodded his agreement, slipping off his horse and tying it to a tree. Slowly, the two men walked toward Serenity, the only sound they could hear the trilling of birds and the wind in the tall grass.

Arriving at the ramp, they stood on either side of the opening, listening carefully for the sound of any movement. There was total silence. Motioning to David, Mal swung around the opening, moving rapidly into the cargo bay. Silently moving up the catwalk, he headed for the bridge, David right behind him to cover his back.

They moved through the ship without incident. Mal, his senses heightened with tension, saw that the galley had been raided, the cupboards nearly bare. Moving forward, he looked briefly in the bunks, but they appeared to have been overlooked by the looters. Finally coming to the bridge, he checked the instrument readings. "Serenity's bleeding," he said softly, looking with horror at the fuel indicator.

"What does that mean?" David whispered at his back.

"Whoever was here drained the fuel cells," Mal replied grimly. "Looks like we're grounded."

"But why would anyone do that?" David asked in puzzlement. "What good is a ship with no fuel? If they wanted to steal it…"

Mal interrupted him. "Didn't want the ship," he said, deep lines creasing his forehead. "Wanted to make sure no one could get away."

David swallowed nervously. "But how did they get inside? You say yourself the ship was secured when you left it. I didn't see any indication of tampering."

"Don't know," Mal replied. "But we ain't searched the whole ship yet. Could be we'll find our answer somewhere we haven't looked."

Heading back toward the cargo bay, Mal moved toward the infirmary and stopped in his tracks. "Think we got our answer about how they got in," he said tightly.

Kneeling down beside Jim's limp form, he felt for a pulse.

David looked at the prone man in horror. "Is he…?"

"Alive," Mal said shortly. "But not for long, I conjure, judgin' from the look of him." Looking up at David, he ordered, "You gotta go back to the house and get Simon. We can't move Jim that far without finishing off what those hundans started. And here, Simon's got the equipment he needs to do what can be done."

David nodded. "I'll be back as soon as I can," he said, hurrying out of the infirmary.

"Hope to God it's soon enough," Mal murmured, examining Jim's wounds more carefully. Picking him up as gently as he could manage, Mal laid him on the infirmary table and turned on the overhead light to look more closely.

Cursing a long string of Mandarin, he saw the extent of the damage. There was an indentation in the side of Jim's head, as if he'd been hit with something very heavy. Knowing that a skull fracture like that meant major trauma to the brain, Mal winced as he gently probed the area.

Deciding that Simon would have to handle the head injury, he moved on to the rest of Jim's body. Several ribs were broken, evidence that whoever had done this had taken pleasure in beating the man into near death. One forearm was broken as well, as if Jim had tried to protect his ribs at the cost of his arm.

Gently peeling back his clothes, Mal saw severe bruising on his back and thighs in the shape of boot prints and a small bullet hole in his abdomen, which was still oozing blood. Anger at the thought of what Jim had been through made his hands shake as he rummaged through the drawers to find the supplies he needed to start cleaning him up. Working silently, he tried not to think of what must have happened to Zoe.

XXXXXXXXXX

Adam sat in the corner of the room, holding his knees tightly to his chest. "It's all right, Adam," Anya said softly. "Your mama's gonna be just fine. Your Uncle Simon just gave her something to sleep. When she wakes up, she'll be fine."

Adam looked up at her with haunted eyes. "No, she won't," he said sadly. "She can see them, better'n me, even."

"See who?" Anya asked, her tone laced with sudden worry.

"The bad men," Adam said, a large tear falling down his cheek, which he tried to hide unsuccessfully.

Lifting his chin to look into his eyes, Anya whispered, "What bad men, Adam?"

Adam shook his head, not wanting to tell Anya what he saw. "I said, what bad men?" Anya repeated more forcefully.

Adam burst into a torrent of tears. "The ones that took your mama, Anya," he said, his voice jerking with the tears he cried.

Anya sat down hard on the floor beside him, her heart beating painfully against her ribcage. "Where are they?" she said, too scared to ask the bigger question of whether her mother was alive.

"Don't know," Adam said, curling up into a tighter ball. "Can't see where."

"Come on," Anya said, pulling him up. "We gotta tell Doctor Simon right now."

Adam nodded, wiping his tears furiously and trying to contain the hiccups they'd caused as he followed Anya into his mother's room.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	8. Chapter 8

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part VIII—Slender Thread**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Zoe wakes up to an unpleasant situation, and Mal discovers she's not the only one of his crew that's gone missing.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe heard the muted sound of people talking, though the words seemed unintelligible to her. Shifting slightly, she suppressed a groan as pain shot through her body. She lay still, waiting for the wave of nausea to subside and trying to remember what had happened through the fog permeating her brain.

Gradually she became aware that she was lying on the ground, small pebbles and grit sticking to her bare skin. She paused for a moment, taking in the fact that she must be naked. Opening one eye with a monumental effort, she confirmed her suspicions. Lying very still, she tried to make out her surroundings. She could see several pairs of boots milling about her, and a few bare feet as well. Moving her head minutely, she saw that her own feet were bound by some kind of twine, and she realized that her arms were tied in a similar manner behind her back. Seeing no immediate advantage in letting her captors know she was awake, she closed her eyes again, forcing her breathing to be steady and deep.

Gradually the voices coalesced into something she could understand. "Can't say I'm pleased that you failed to bring me the man," she heard an authoritative voice say.

"I'm real sorry about that, Cyrus," another man replied. "But they was puttin' up a helluva fight. She's a wild cat, she is, and the man managed to do some damage his own self. Just went what you might say wild when we got hold of her. Jody couldn't handle him proper and ended up clubbin' him a lot harder than he intended. Man dropped like a stone. Judging from the dent in the side 'a his head, he weren't gonna last much longer noways. And I didn't see the need of bringing dead weight into the camp."

Zoe held in her reaction, reliving the sound of the crack and the sight of her lover dropping to Serenity's grating with a sickening thud. Cyrus answered the other man, "Be that as it may, it ain't like we got all that many folk that we can just waste one like that. He looked to be a strappin' man, and we coulda' used him well if'n you'd been more careful. Still," he paused, poking at Zoe with his boot. "She's a fine prize." He leaned down and peered at Zoe, his fetid breath making her long to turn away. But she stayed perfectly still as he pushed the hair away from her neck, intent on letting them think her still unconscious.

Pulling a small dart from the tender flesh at the juncture of her neck and shoulder, he asked, "Why'd you use this?"

"Like I told you, Cyrus, she's a wild cat. Even after she was tied, she kept twisting and turning, bucking like a wild thing. I didn't want to have to wrestle her all the way home."

Cyrus nodded, handing the younger man back his dart. "Just be sparin' with that," he cautioned. "Too much and you coulda' killed her too."

"So," the younger man said, his voice tinged with hope. "Can I have her?"

Cyrus laughed, the sound like rusty nails. "You'da' brought me the man too, I'da' considered it. As it is, she goes into the pool tonight."

"But Cyrus," the young man began, whining a little.

"Silence," Cyrus said, his tenuous hold on patience slipping. "You got just as much chance as everybody else that way. Consider it a kindness that I ain't takin' the cost of the man out of your hide."

The young man gulped nervously, wisely refraining from further argument. "What about the others?" he asked to change the subject. "They get back with all theirs?"

Cyrus shook his head. "They ain't come back yet. Musta' run into a little trouble. But I 'spect they'll be back soon enough."

The young man nodded and watched his elder walk away. When Cyrus was out of sight, he turned back to Zoe for a moment. Running his rough hands along her breasts, he whispered, "Woulda' had us a fine time if'n Cyrus would done like he shoulda'," he whispered. "Been easier on you too, with just me." Sighing, he looked over his shoulder before taking a protein bar he'd stolen from Serenity out of his pocket. "Oh well," he said, "Least I got one thing I ain't got to share from it all." And sitting down beside Zoe's bound body, he ate the protein bar, munching contentedly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Simon burst into the infirmary, stopping only when he got to the table where Mal was busily working on Jim. Mal stepped aside seamlessly, the two men moving in tandem as they had many times when someone other than Mal was injured.

"Didn't see anything I could do for the skull fracture, other'n clean up the point of impact a mite," Mal said grimly.

"You did well," Simon murmured, completely engrossed in examining Jim's multiple injuries. "Pulse is still thready," he observed.

Mal nodded. "Didn't know exactly what to give him that wouldn't possibly push him over the edge. He's hangin' on by a slender thread as it is."

Simon nodded, quickly inputting the code to unlock the cabinet where the stronger drugs were now kept. For once the gleaming vials did not make him hunger to feel the sweet release they would provide coursing through his veins. Quickly preparing an injection, he motioned to Mal. "Over there, in the lower right cabinet. The bone saw I used for Daniel. It'll have to do."

Mal found the instrument quickly. "You sure you should do this 'fore we get his other injuries looked to?"

Simon looked up from the surgical tray he was preparing. "If what I think is happening inside his head is really happening, the other injuries won't matter if something is not done immediately."

Mal nodded, already pulling surgical gloves on to assist Simon. "So what do you think is happening?"

"Judging from his neurological responses, I'd say that a fragment of his skull is embedded rather deeply in the region of his parietal lobe, or possibly his temporal lobe. I can't be certain without more advanced equipment. But we don't have time to get him anywhere else."

"Nor fuel cells to do it with," Mal said.

Simon spared one minute to look at him. "We're grounded?"

"Looks like," Mal replied. "You'll just have to do the best you can with what we got."

"And what we've got is nowhere near adequate, if he's going to have any quality of life. That is…assuming he lives through the procedure."

"You sayin' that even if you get the bone fragment out, he won't recover?" Mal asked, the words sticking in his throat.

"I'm saying I don't know," Simon replied, checking the settings on the small bone saw. "We need to shave the area, and sterilize it as best we can." Finishing his original thought, he added, "The human brain is a still a mystery. For everything we learn, there are millions of things we don't know. I'll do what I can."

"All anyone can ask," Mal replied, pouring the sterilizing solution across the indented area.

The men worked wordlessly, the only sound in the room the whining of the saw as Simon trimmed away the jagged edges of Jim's fractured skull. Working meticulously, he probed the spongy brain tissue, retrieving small fragments and dropping them into the pan on the surgical tray. Mal stood on the opposite side of the table, wincing as he saw that the tissue was shredded in spots by the fragments.

Trying to avoid nausea at the sight, he concentrated on the steadiness of Simon's hands, the artistry in the way the doctor moved, trimming and sewing with a steely determination despite the fact that his patient was a man he knew well and lived with every day. Coming to the largest of the fragments, which was indeed embedded deeply into the parietal lobe, he paused for a moment. "Get some more clamps, over in the top left drawer. And get ready to suction this area carefully. Once I remove this fragment, there will be blood pouring into this area. There won't be much time to get it under control before….."

"I understand," Mal said softly, drawing a deep breath to steady his own hands.

"Ready?" Simon asked, staring at the fragment he was about to dislodge.

"Ready," Mal replied.

Without another word, Simon grasped the fragment firmly with forceps, following its original angle of entry as well as he could to prevent further tissue damage. Immediately the area filled with blood and Mal suctioned it carefully away as Simon cauterized the bleeders as quickly as he could. Then, working much more slowly, Simon examined the area, looking for any minute sign of residual bleeding, knowing that if he left something unattended now, Jim would surely lose his life due to intracranial bleeding in the next few hours.

When he was satisfied that he had found all the bleeders, he carefully stitched what he could salvage. Then, pulling back, he examined the actual bone. "I still have some small sections of the material I used for Daniel's operation," he said. "Perhaps they can be pieced together to close the area."

"Where?" Mal asked, his voice hoarse from lack of use.

"Same cabinet where the saw was. Further back," Simon answered tiredly.

Mal found the material and handed it to Simon. Carefully piecing it together, Simon fashioned a plate that he thought would fit with minimal adjustment. Sliding it into place between the edges of Jim's skull, he glued it carefully before closing the incision.

"Is it gonna work, doc?" Mal asked, watching him make the last of the stitches.

"No way to know," Simon said. Sighing, he turned his attention to the rest of Jim's battered body.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal arrived back at the house as the sun was setting to find River pacing anxiously on the front porch. "Thought you wouldn't get here in time," she said nervously.

"In time for what?" he asked, holding out his arms to her.

She fell into them gratefully, needing the physical reassurance that he was there. "Before dark," she answered, shivering.

Pulling her away so that he could look at her face, Mal asked urgently, "What happens at dark, River?"

She looked up at him, her eyes wild in the failing light. "Terrible things," she whispered, slipping into a sing-song voice. "Death….and pain…desperation….so many hands, grasping and clawing…..."

Mal grasped her shoulders, his fingers digging into her skin. "River," he said firmly. "Need you to hold it together, bao bei. Dong ma?"

With great effort, she focused on his face, seeing the fierce determination in his eyes. She nodded. "Hold it together," she repeated softly.

"Yes," Mal said, steering her toward the house. Stepping into the front parlor, he saw that everyone had gathered there. David's men stood at the windows, armed and peering out into the twilight. Lily, Kaylee, and the children sat huddled in the middle of the room. Looking about quickly, Mal asked, "Where's Jayne? Need him to ride out with me to guard Serenity. Simon had to stay with Jim."

Kaylee looked up at him with tear-streaked cheeks as Inara stepped into the room. "He's gone, Mal," Inara answered, her voice trembling. Saying the words aloud hit her like a physical blow, and she weaved unsteadily on her feet. "We rode all afternoon," she continued, holding onto the back of a chair for support. "Looked everywhere. He just…vanished."

David spoke from the doorway. "We'll start looking again come morning," he said. "Couldn't ask my people to stay out there tonight, knowing what else might be out there somewhere close by."

Mal nodded, thinking of Simon and Jim, stranded alone in the middle of an unprotected field. Better to think of that than about where Zoe might be, he thought before he could suppress the idea. Turning to head back out into the night, he was pulled back by River, who suddenly seemed to have the strength of ten men. "Mustn't go," she said softly. "Isn't safe."

"River, darlin', I gotta go," he said as gently as he could while trying to dislodge her grip on his arm. "Your brother's out there, and Zoe."

River held her grip. "Can't go," she said, staring at him with huge brown eyes, willing him to see what she could not articulate.

"I'll go," David said suddenly, ending the impasse between Mal and River.

"But David," Lily began, trying frantically to think of a way to talk him out of it.

David held up his hand, forestalling further discussion. "It's only right. I got you all involved in this mess, and now I've got to make it right somehow."

"But it's suicide," one of his men objected.

"No, it's not," David said firmly. "I know this land like the back of my hand. I see anything out of the ordinary, I'll be ready."

"I'm coming with you," Lily said, gathering her wits about her.

David touched her cheek gently. "Need you here, honey," he said softly. "Can't do what needs doing if I thought you were not here seeing to things. Dong ma?"

Lily swallowed thickly, tears threatening to spill. "At least take someone with you," she said hopefully.

David was about to protest when one of his men stepped forward. "I'll go with you, boss," he volunteered. "Two guns are better than one."

"Pete, I won't ask you to…"

"Know that. That's why I'm offerin'," Pete replied solidly.

Sharing a look with Mal, David said, "Watch over Lily for me, Sarge."

Mal nodded. "Will do," he said solemnly. "Be careful."

David smiled wryly. "Little too late for that, I conjure," he answered softly as he stepped out into the darkness.

Mal turned back to the room and looked at the remaining crew of Serenity, who sat looking at him in various stages of shock. "Best we get some rest," he said, using his best authoritative tone to get their attention. "Tomorrow's like to be a long day." And gathering Adam up into his arms, he sat down to wait until dawn.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	9. Chapter 9

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part IX—In the Camp**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: R—for violence

Summary: Night falls and as Zoe learns exactly what the pool is, she sees a familiar face in the crowd.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe's joints were beginning to ache from lying still for so long on the hard ground. She knew without opening her eyes that her captor still sat gazing at her in the dim light. Zoe was a woman of infinite patience when the situation called for such, but she was beginning to fray around the edges. How the hundan could have sat there for hours just looking at her without so much as stepping outside even once to relieve himself was beyond her. As it was, she had been given no opportunity to attempt escape, and she had no illusions about what the night was sure to hold for her.

"She ain't woke up yet," the young man said to someone outside.

"Well, it's time to wake her up then." She recognized the voice as belonging to the man called Cyrus. "The others are back and settled in. And the men are waiting."

"How many'd they bring back with 'em?" the young man asked curiously.

"Got four more men. Makes up for the one you left behind," Cyrus answered, not able to resist reminding the younger man of his earlier error.

"But no women?" the younger man asked, studiously ignoring the barb.

"Got another girl," Cyrus answered, a note of irritation in his voice. "Either way, you need to wake that one up, ma shong. Men are gettin' restless as it is."

Sighing heavily, the young man bent down over Zoe's prone form. Shaking her roughly by the shoulders, he hissed, "Time to rise and shine, purty woman. Ever'body's waitin'."

Out of options, Zoe slowly opened her eyes.

XXXXXXXXXX

For the hundredth time, Jayne tested the chains that bound him to the other three men in the enclosure.

"There's ain't no use," whispered a voice somewhere behind him.

Turning to see the source of the comment, Jayne was surprised to see several other men chained in groupings of four by the waist, ankles, and wrists. "What's that?" he said.

"I said, ain't no use," the man replied. "Less'n you're a helluva lot stronger than tempered steel, you're gonna be stayin' right here with the rest of us 'til you die."

"Yeah, well, I ain't exactly plannin' on layin' down and dying any time soon," Jayne replied, observing the defeated look of the other men.

"Oh, you won't die layin' down," the man said, his eyes much older than his face. "Die like all the rest of us, swingin' a gorram pick ax on the side of this godforsaken mountain with three others chained right beside you dying too."

Jayne looked around more carefully, observing the weakened condition of several of the groups. "You all come from the settlement?" he asked.

"Some from the settlement, but most of this group come from the outlyin' farms," the man replied, rasping as a cough seized him.

"Who are the hundans who took you?" Jayne asked simply.

The man looked at him as if he was having trouble understanding the question. "Spawn of the devil," he replied finally, spitting a thick wad of mucus from his cracked lips. "Come straight out from hell, best as I can figure."

"Men that attacked me weren't no demons," Jayne said, rolling his eyes at the superstition. "They were men, just like anybody else, only they had a wicked kind of tranq dart." He rubbed his neck gingerly at the memory, making his wrist chains rattle.

"Least they didn't beat you half to death, like they did that man on the end," the other man observed. Jayne squinted in the darkness at the man on the very end of his chain. "Most like be dead come mornin'," the man went on. "Most mornin's they have to move folk about, on accounta' the ones that die during the night."

Jayne pondered that information, thinking that with a little luck, he would have an opening if his captors had to regroup the captives in the morning. To do that, he reasoned, they would have to remove the chains for at least a moment. And he intended that a moment was all he would need.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal sat staring at the window, Adam lying blessedly asleep in his arms. The little boy had been distraught, whispering to his father disjointed bits of information about Zoe's capture, all filtered through the eyes of a small child. Mal had fought to hide the way Adam's words had torn him in two, trying not to add any more emotional trauma to his child.

But now that his son was asleep, Mal allowed his mind to think about the woman who had stood at his side for longer than he could remember at the moment. He'd been with her through all the horrors of war, through the unspeakable cruelty of the internment camps, through the death of her husband, through countless gunfights and near-death moments. And now, on what was supposed to be a gorram vacation, she was gone, alone somewhere in the hills with only her tormentors for company. The thought made his blood boil and he could feel the murderous rage building in him with each passing moment. Looking down at the innocent face of his son, he lifted him up gently and laid him in the chair.

"Can't go tonight," River said softly, coming to stand beside him as he gazed into the darkness outside.

"Don't know as I can stay here and wait," he replied, his voice hard and bitter. His mind flashed to all the things that might be happening to his best friend even now.

River grasped his arm with an iron grip. "Can't go tonight," she repeated with genuine steel in her voice. "Too late to help her tonight. Ride at first light."

"Can you see what's happening now?" Mal asked, turning to stare into River's eyes. "See what they're….." He faltered, unable to finish the sentence.

"No," River said, shaking her head. "But I can find them," she said firmly. "Tomorrow morning, at first light, I can find them. Once we've gotten all the others to safety."

"Wish to hell we hadn't set Serenity down so far from the house," Mal said, thinking that the time it would take to move everyone to the more defensible location was time Zoe might not have. "And first light is a gorram long time away," Mal replied, not bothering to hide the pain and worry in his voice.

XXXXXXXXXX

Anya lay on the rug beside the fire, staring into the flames absently. Adam had said the bad men had taken her mother, and she couldn't help but think about her birth mother and how she, too, had been taken by bad men. Scrunching her eyes shut, she hugged the blanket close to her chest, praying that she would not be orphaned yet again.

She could hear Captain Mal and Miss River talking, and a part of her wanted him to leave now, in the middle of the night, to get to her mother. Anya had infinite faith in Captain Mal, but she could feel the tension building in him like a physical force pressing against her skin. If only Uncle Jim could go with him, she thought, her young heart twisting with worry about him as well. Captain Mal had said little about his condition, but Anya knew that if he had not been hurt badly, he would never have let the bad men take her mother.

Kaylee knelt beside the little girl, rubbing her back soothingly. "'S'gonna' be all right, Anya," she whispered. "Capt'n'll see to it tomorrow morning. And Doctor Simon's looking after your uncle, so he'll be just fine. You'll see. Now you go on to sleep, and everything'll be much better tomorrow. 'Kay?"

Anya swallowed back a small sob. "Okay," she said, her voice small, sad, and more than a little skeptical.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jayne watched intently as the men outside the enclosure began to move excitedly to a small platform in the center of the camp. An old man, slightly hunched from years of hard work, climbed slowly up the steps and turned to face the men. Jayne observed that there was a small smattering of women in the camp as well, all of them with the same defeated look he had seen on the faces of the men in the enclosure with him. Most were in various stages of pregnancy and those who weren't were holding small babies in their arms. Looking more closely, Jayne realized that he saw no children old enough to walk on their own. Filing that fact away for later thought, he turned his attention back to the platform.

The old man was rapping on the floor of the platform with a cane carved from a tree branch. "Gather 'round, the lot of ya'," he said, his voice raspy until he cleared his throat loudly. "Tonight is a night for celebration."

A silence fell over the crowd as he spoke. "Today, a baby girl was born . Think of it. A girl, homegrown from amongst us. A new start." He leaned down slowly, and reached for the child. Holding the infant up in the light of the torches, he said, "Look at her. The first of a new generation of women. Our own women. Few years's time, we won't have to pull our get from the others."

The baby squirmed and let out a wail of protest as the men cheered. Handing her back to the listless woman who'd held her, Cyrus continued, "Proof that God is with us again. Blessing the fruit of our loins. Giving us pure children even out of the impurity of the intruders."

After the cheering subsided, he said, "And today we added four new workers to the ranks, fine-looking, strapping men to ease our load as we build our fortifications. And the Lord has blessed us even more." He paused dramatically. "Given us two new women, child-bearers for our camp."

"Show them to us," someone in the crowd shouted. "Let us see them!"

Cyrus raised a bony hand. "In a minute," he said. "First, let us offer to God a prayer of thanksgiving for the bounty of the hunt."

"Amen," chorused several of the men, placing their hands across their chests reverently.

Cyrus prayed for several minutes, while Jayne looked carefully at the crowd, thinking what an eerie-ass religion they must be a part of. One of those cults, most like, he thought with a shiver of apprehension. He'd heard of such things back where he was from, and the stories always ended with some major damage being done to a bunch of innocent folk.

Cyrus finally finished his lengthy prayer, and the crowd shifted eagerly forward as he motioned a woman onto the platform. There was a low murmur of discontent as Cyrus pulled her forward into the light.

"She ain't new," a man yelled from the back of the crowd. "Had her myself a year back."

Cyrus frowned sternly into the audience. "I didn't say this one was new. But she's proven, broke in, and able to bear children. Gotten two head off'n her already, and her not here but two years. She'll be the first tonight."

A handful of men pushed their way to the platform as the others parted for them to pass. Cyrus smiled and held out a small leather pouch. "Now these men got some sense," he said, watching as they put small tiles of wood into the pouch. "They're going with what's tried and true." The men stood in a huddle at the stage, looking eagerly at their leader as he shook the bag. Pausing dramatically, he pulled the bag open and stuck in his hand, drawing out a tile. "Tom, you're the lucky man. First week's yours."

He withdrew the next tile. "Jared, you're next in line. She ain't with child from Tom, next week's yours."

The process went on until each of the men had been assigned a timeframe. And Tom, the proud owner of the woman for the moment, pulled her off the platform and out of the light.

Cyrus smiled. "Now, for the rest of you, we'll do this one at the time." Pulling a young girl onto the platform, he turned back to the crowd. "This one's a special prize. Never been with a man. Checked her myself this afternoon, and she's good and pure. Young enough we'll get least a dozen head off'n her, things go like they ought."

Jayne's stomach twisted uncomfortably as he saw the naked, trembling girl. She was only a couple of years older than Anya. His fists curled around the bars of his cage and he pulled fiercely, though it was a useless gesture. Growling in frustration, he jerked his chains, pulling the man beside him halfway up in his anger.

"What the di yu is your problem?" the man asked. "Ain't I been jerked around enough as it is?"

Jayne gave him a glare that stopped the next words in his throat. Swallowing nervously, he waited until Jayne turned his attention back to the scene at the platform. Glancing in that direction himself, he let out a strangled cry, jumping up to grab the bars beside Jayne.

"Stop," he screamed. "For the love of God, stop." All heads turned in the direction of the plea. "She's just a girl," he said. "Still plays with dolls, for God's sake. Don't do this." He began to cry, pitiful wracking sobs that came from deep inside. "She's my daughter."

Jayne looked at the man in horror.

"Daddy," the girl cried, frantic to get to him despite her bonds. "Please, Daddy, help me."

Flinging himself at the bars with all his strength, the man wailed for mercy for his daughter. Cyrus motioned with his bony finger, and the man guarding the enclosure drew back suddenly and hit the man squarely in the throat with the butt of his rifle. The man crumpled to the ground as Jayne tried to catch him. Looking up into Jayne's eyes with a pain borne of desperation, he tried to speak. Hearing the horrific sound of gurgling, Jayne knew immediately that his windpipe had been crushed. Easing the body down gently, Jayne felt a wave of fury wash over him. The sound of the young girl's cries echoed in his ears, pounding in rhythm with the blood pumping there in his rage.

Turning to face the man's murderer, Jayne reached through the bars, grabbing the man by the throat and squeezing with all his strength. Struggling against the sudden assault, the man kicked his feet wildly, dropping his gun as he tried to dislodge Jayne's iron grip. Jayne tightened his grip, feeling the satisfying crunch of bone beneath his hands.

He heard, as if from a great distance, Cyrus shouting an order, "Take him down, but don't kill him." Immediately Jayne felt the sharp stab of a bullet tearing through his forearm, making him lose his hold on the murderer. As the man slumped to the ground in a boneless heap, a second guard aimed his smoking gun squarely at Jayne's head. "Back away from the fence," he said, his voice low and deadly.

Jayne stood for a moment, a million probable outcomes running through his mind. Finally, with a growl of anger, he stepped back from the barrier, glaring at his captor with genuine hatred in his eyes.

Needing to regain some semblance of control of the situation, Cyrus rapped on the platform with his cane. "He'll be punished in the morning," he promised. "In the meantime, let us get back to the task at hand. Those who wish to have the girl, come forward."

More than half the men surged forward, eager for a turn with the young virgin. The sickening process of choosing her new owners went forward, until the girl was shoved into the arms of the winner.

Turning his attention to the last of his prizes, Cyrus hauled Zoe up the platform steps. Her ankles had been freed, but her arms were still bound tightly behind her. Unlike the first two who had been so cruelly given to the crowd, Zoe stood tall, her spine unbowed by her captive state. Gazing out into the group, she caught Jayne's horrified expression. Lifting her chin defiantly, she refused to cower before the swine that held her arm so tightly.

Noting her proud bearing, Cyrus chuckled appreciatively. "Now this one looks to be a wild one," he said, pushing her forward. "Plenty of fight in her yet. Best reserve her for the strong of heart. Who will take this one on?"

The crowd hesitated for a moment, some of them obviously cowed by Zoe's steady glare. "I'll take her," the largest of the men said, pushing to the front of the crowd. "Ain't a woman been born that I can't bed."

Cyrus looked at the others expectantly. "Will no one else come forward to share the bounty with Roy?" Several of the men shifted uncomfortably in their places. Cyrus sighed. "Come on up here. Take a closer look at her. Touch her if you want. You'll find she is but a woman, weak and soft at her center."

Unable to resist such a temptation, four men surged forward, groping Zoe with rough hands as Roy looked on with annoyance. "Just remember I get her first," he said to no one in particular.

Zoe stood as still and cold as stone, though every muscle in her body screamed for violence. Her eyes sought out Jayne, who looked at her steadily, offering her what strength he could as he stood away from the barrier, fists clenched at his sides.

Finally, when Cyrus had been sufficiently amused, he stepped in, shooing the men away from Zoe while assigning each of them their allotted amount of time with her. Then, turning to Roy, he said, "Take her and go."

Roy jerked her by the arm, propelling her forward into the darkness at the edge of the camp. Jayne watched her disappear, fixing in his mind the look of each man who had laid a hand on her and vowing that, come hell or high water, every one of them would pay for what they had done.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	10. Chapter 10

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part X—Warpath**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: R, for violence

Summary: Roy gets more than he bargained for, and Mal begins the hunt at first light.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jayne sank to the ground heavily, nursing his wounded forearm. Looking at the body of the man chained next to him, he clenched his jaw angrily.

"Check his pockets," the man on the other side suggested.

Jayne glared at him in annoyance. "Don't think coin's gonna pay us outta this go se," he said.

"Not for coin," the man said, rolling his eyes. "For a handkerchief, or somethin' else that you can use to wrap that arm. I'd give you mine if'n I had one."

Jayne reached gingerly into the man's pocket, feeling all manner of guilty for the small sacrilege.

"Won't matter come mornin' no way," came the same irritating voice from earlier in the evening. "Wrap it as you like, but come mornin', Cyrus'll have you killed as an example to the rest of us. Hundan is a tough old bird. Don't tolerate no kind of rebellion."

Probing the area as best he could, Jayne dug out the bullet that had glanced off the bone, grimacing with the pain of it. "Yeah, well, we'll see about that," he said, pulling the makeshift bandage as tight as he could manage to stop the slow trickle of blood from the wound.

Feeling more than a little queasy, he leaned back against the barrier, closing his eyes for just a moment. But he soon opened them, the image of Zoe being pawed by those hundans seemingly burned into his eyelids. Jayne was not a man given to wasted motion, so he sat still, peering into the darkness to see if he could find anything to help him pick the locks that kept him chained to the others. But when the torches burned out and the rest of the enclosed men slept, he realized his chances of escape had dwindled right along with the failing light. Leaning his head back against the barrier, he waited for first light.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe stumbled over a rock, her bare feet bleeding from walking on the rough terrain. Roy yanked her forward. "Keep up, woman," he hissed. "Cabin's t'other side of that stand of trees."

Barely able to see anything in the dense darkness, Zoe tried to regain her footing. But with her hands tied behind her back, she was unable to catch herself and she fell heavily against her captor, almost knocking him over. Hissing curses, he righted himself, jerking her up with him. Muttering under his breath, he twisted her arm painfully. "Ain't no use to try to slow me down," he said, his breath hot against her ear. "You're mine, and I aim to have what's due me."

Zoe clenched her jaw tightly, aching with the need to end the hundan where he stood. As he pulled her forward, the ground became less rocky and she realized they must be near the cabin. Drawing a deep breath, she moved on, trying not to think of the little life she might be carrying and the harm that might come to it within those cabin walls.

Roy dragged her up the steps and through the door, and her nostrils were assaulted with the smell of greasy cooking and unwashed laundry. Roy, eager to enjoy his prize, pushed her onto the narrow cot in the corner. Towering over her, he began to unbutton his pants. Seeing the look in her eyes, he hesitated for a moment. "Think this first time we'll just leave those arms of yours tied," he said, almost conversationally. "No use to fight if'n we don't have to." He grinned, pushing her legs apart and preparing to climb atop her.

Moving with a speed he could not have envisioned, Zoe drew her legs up to her chest and kicked out with stunning force, catching her attacker squarely in the chest. He fell backward with a heavy thud and Zoe heard the satisfying crack of his head against the floor. Levering herself up as quickly as she could without the use of her hands, she jumped atop the large man, pressing her knee against his throat as he struggled for breath.

Exerting all the force he could muster, he bucked under her, throwing her off his chest with a monumental effort. Gasping for air, he staggered to his feet. Zoe immediately scissored her legs, catching him behind the knee with a well-placed kick. He fell again, screaming in rage. As he struggled to regain his footing, Zoe stretched her arms painfully, working her body through them so that her bound hands were now in front of her. Roy lunged toward her, catching her at mid thigh and pulling her down once again. Zoe twisted out of his grasp, delivering a blow to his head with her clenched fists. Quickly getting behind him, she dropped her wrists around his throat and pulled back sharply, pushing his body forward against the restraints with her legs. Roy struggled, kicking at the air and trying to twist his body away from her iron grip. But Zoe knew that if he managed to break free of the grasp she had on him, she might not get another chance. Exerting more force, she held on tight, determined not to let go until he lay dead at her feet. His kicks became sporadic as his air supply dwindled down to nothing. Finally, after what seemed to Zoe an eternity of straining her aching arms, she felt Roy's final burst of resistance before his body went limp.

Slowly releasing him, she stood on shaky legs, drawing large gulps of air into her lungs. She looked at his corpse for a long moment, shuddering at how close she had come to being his victim. Rolling her neck slowly to relieve the tension in her shoulders, she looked around the cabin for a knife of some sort. When she found what she sought, she sat on the cot and began to saw at her bonds. The ropes were tight, and she had to concentrate so as not to slit her wrists in the process, but after a long stretch of time, she was finally freed. Rubbing her arms and hands to encourage circulation, she looked around the room in disgust. Finally, she spied a shirt that looked less dirty than some of the others. With hands still trembling with adrenaline, she pulled it on and buttoned it up. Eyeing Roy's shoes, she decided that they would just slow down her progress, as they were several sizes too large for her. She rummaged impatiently through the pile of clothes, picking out two thick pairs of dirty socks. And with her feet thus protected, she pocketed the knife she'd used to free her hands and walked out into the faint light of early morning.

XXXXXXXXXX

Simon sat beside Jim's bed, watching the monitors worriedly. All night he had sat thus, watching Jim's body fight to regulate itself and begin to heal. Three times his blood pressure had dropped dangerously low, and Simon had been forced to pump meds into him that he was almost afraid to use. And now that Jim's blood pressure had finally stabilized, his temperature seemed to be steadily increasing as his body fought to overcome the trauma it had sustained.

Simon dared not give him anything for the fever yet, not wanting to suppress the poor man's immune system any more than he already had. Wringing a cool cloth out, he gently drew it down Jim's battered body, hoping that this most natural form of fever reduction might have at least some effect.

David stood in the doorway of the infirmary. "Any change?" he asked bleakly.

"Not really," Simon said. "It's far too soon to say with any degree of accuracy what will happen."

David nodded. "Anything I can do?"

Simon shook his head and watched the man walk away with bowed shoulders. "We'll just be out here if you need anything," David said over his shoulder.

Looking at the chronometer on the infirmary wall, Simon frowned. Surely it was daylight outside by now. And he had been expecting Mal at daybreak. As the thought formed in his mind, he heard the sound of Serenity's ramp being lowered. In short minutes, Mal stood at the door. "How is he?" he asked urgently, not bothering with a greeting.

Simon swallowed, more relieved to see Mal than he would ever admit. "Had a rough night," he said. "But for right now, he seems to be stable."

"Good," Mal said, turning on his heel. "Going to get Zoe now."

Simon hurried after him, daring to leave his patient for just a moment. "But the others," he asked. "Where are….?"

"We're here, Simon," Kaylee said, walking toward her husband with genuine relief. "Capt'n got us all up and on the trail at first light. Me and Lily and the children are all here."

Mal turned to look at Simon for a moment. "Gonna leave some of David's men to see to keeping the monsters at bay here. After we go, you lock Serenity up tight and don't even think about opening her open again 'til you see it's us at the door. Dong ma?"

Simon nodded. "But surely you're not taking River," he began.

Mal stopped him with a look. "I'll see to my wife, doc. You see to yours," he said, his tone brooking no argument. Simon swallowed and nodded. Mal turned to Kaylee. "And you see to Serenity. Looked to me like we ain't got fuel enough to go anywhere, but maybehaps we could use some from the shuttles, or rig something somehow. I got a powerful need to be off this gorram world soon's Zoe and Jayne are back."

Kaylee nodded. "I'll get on it, Capt'n."

Without another word, Mal strode out of the corridor and through Serenity's cargo bay, heading out to find his people.

XXXXXXXXXXX

Jayne heard the faintest of sounds somewhere behind him, and he turned slightly, peering into the dim light of early morning. Zoe emerged silently from the bushes closest to where he sat. Jayne grinned. "'Bout time you showed up," he said. "What took you so long?"

Zoe gave him one of her patented looks. "I was a little tied up," she deadpanned.

Seeing the lacerations on her wrists and ankles, Jayne got serious. "They hurt you bad?"

Zoe swallowed, unaccountably undone by the gentleness of the question. "No," she answered. "Nothin' too bad." Looking pointedly at his arm, she asked, "You?"

"Nah," Jayne said. "Nothin' but a scratch." He neglected to tell her that "scratch" had gone to the bone. "You wouldn't happen to have the keys to this here chain, would you?"

Zoe shook her head. "Nor anything to pick the lock with either," she whispered. "But I heard what those hundans said about punishing you come morning, and I think we best figure something quick. You got any idea which one of the guards has the keys?"

Jayne looked at her with a trace of embarrassment. "Didn't see," he admitted. "Hundans tranq'd me and then put 'em on."

Zoe nodded, all too familiar with the effects of the tranquilizer. Looking around at the setup, she sighed. "Even if I can get us guns to shoot the locks off, I don't think we can shoot our way out of here without gettin' riddled with holes. We need reinforcements."

Jayne nodded. "'Spect Mal's on his way, if he could pick up the trail."

Zoe looked around in the increasingly light of dawn. "Looked to me last night like there were upwards of a hundred men up here, not countin' the ones in chains."

Jayne frowned. "Yeah, that's about what I figure too. Long odds, even with River's eerie-ass abilities and Jim's sharp shooting."

"Jim ain't coming," Zoe said flatly.

Jayne stared at her. "You mean he's …?" he began, shaken by the thought.

Zoe shook her head. "Don't know if he's dead, but either way, he ain't able to come," she said. "Hundans hurt him bad."

Jayne was silent for a moment, the rage in his belly beginning to boil over into something truly formidable. "Go on," he said. "You need to go and find Mal. Get him here. This place needs to be cleaned out. Dong ma?"

Zoe looked at him steadily. "Ain't over-fond of the idea of leavin' you chained like a dog and weaponless." She paused for a second. "I'll be right back."

Jayne watched her slip quietly through the brush behind the half-asleep guard. Pulling the blade from her pocket, she slit his throat in one smooth stroke. Rifling through his pockets, she frowned. He did not have the keys. Slinging his gun over her shoulder and retrieving another blade, she slipped back to the enclosure and handed the knife to Jayne wordlessly. Then, she turned back toward the forest, looking back just once to see Jayne nod.

XXXXXXXXXX

River leaned forward in the saddle, listening to something that only she could hear. "Beyond those trees in the distance," she said softly. "That's where the camp is."

Mal looked at the steep climb and nodded. "Any idea how many?"

River shook her head, frowning with concentration. "Many voices. But the same message." Turning her large brown eyes to Mal, she said, "Evil, dark people. No mercy, no humanity. Dead souls walking."

Worried that her speech was becoming so disjointed, Mal urged his horse forward until their knees were touching. "You here, River?"

She nodded, her face rearranging into a more lucid expression. Reassured, Mal turned to David. "Best we go up and scout the area before you and your men follow."

David protested. "But Mal, I think it would be better to…"

Mal cut him off abruptly. "Don't recall askin' your opinion. Those are my people up there and this is the way of it. You got a problem, go home. I got less than no time to talk about what's already been decided." His blue eyes flashed with warning.

David swallowed thickly. "All right, Mal. We'll be right here, waiting for your order."

Without so much as one more word, Mal nudged his horse forward, every sense heightened to a razor sharp edge as he narrowed the distance between him and the camp.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	11. Chapter 11

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XI—Battlefield**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: R, for violence

Summary: The camp comes to life, and violence ensues.

XXXXXXXXXX

Sunlight streamed through Cyrus' window and he got out of bed slowly, his bones aching with the sickness that had cursed his people for three generations. He looked at the young girl lying in his bed and smiled thinly. There were advantages to being the leader of the community, he thought. One was the fact that there was no need to share all the spoils of the hunt with the others. Wondering idly if her twin sister had learned at the hands of the other men what this one had learned from him last night, he prodded her with his cane.

She began to cry, curling into a small ball on the bed. "God's sake, girl," he said disgustedly. "Get up and see to breakfast. You're not here to lie around cryin' all day."

The young girl got up slowly, wincing as she walked to the small stove. "Wh…what do you want to eat?" she asked, trying to contain her revulsion as she looked at the old man.

Cyrus sniffed dismissively. "Plannin' the meals is woman's work," he said. "Just get it done. And tomorrow morning I expect it to be made before the sun comes up. Dong ma?"

The young girl nodded, her legs trembling beneath her as she tried to find the things she would need to make breakfast. Cyrus came up behind her, slamming a large iron skillet down on the stove. "Hurry up, girl," he said again. "I got business down at the camp 'fore the men start workin'."

She nodded, trying to hurry. Perhaps if she did this exactly right, she thought naively, he might let her and her sister go back home.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe peered through the window of the small cabin, watching the young man preparing to leave. She could not hear what he was saying to the girl, but she could see the effect well enough. The girl lay in the blood-stained bed, staring blankly at the wall, flinching each time he spoke to her.

Feeling a strong urge to do violence, Zoe waited beside the cabin door until the man stepped out onto the porch. Quickly disposing of him with her blade, she stepped into the cabin and walked to the bed. "He's gone, little one," she said softly. When the girl did not respond, she added, "And he won't be coming back." She reached out to touch her, but the girl flinched away with a muted cry. Realizing that she did not have to time to help the girl further right now, Zoe slipped back out of the cabin and into the woods.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal and River crouched behind a grouping of rocks surveying the layout of the camp. Several men were moving busily about, some starting campfires to cook their breakfasts, others patrolling the perimeters of the camp and standing guard over the prisoners enclosed within the barrier.

"I see Jayne," River said after several minutes of silence. "Second one on the right of the barrier, chained to three others."

Mal squinted to see where she was looking. "Looks like the two on either end of the chain are dead," he said.

River nodded. "Several others too," she said grimly. "All over the enclosure."

Mal turned his attention temporarily away from his chained mercenary. "Any clue as to where Zoe is?"

Motioning with her head, River said, "About ten feet behind us."

Mal turned quickly, seeing Zoe crouching down low to get to them. "Zoe," he said, the relief in his voice almost unbearable in its intensity.

"Sir," she said, looking at him steadily.

Taking in the cuts and bruises and her general state of undress, Mal swallowed thickly. "You all right?"

Zoe nodded. "Jim?" she asked, her throat tight with the thought of what the answer might be.

"Holding steady," Mal replied. Turning back to the camp, he said, "How many of 'em are there?"

"Best guess, I'd say about a hundred," Zoe replied.

Mal swore softly. "Armed?" he asked.

"Most," Zoe replied.

"They're getting ready," River said, staring intently at the camp.

"Ready for what?" Mal asked.

"To kill Jayne," River replied solemnly.

XXXXXXXXXX

Having had to beat the girl for burning his breakfast, Cyrus was running late. Hobbling down to the enclosure, he looked at the guard that Jayne had killed the night before. It was more than a shame to have to lose a man strong enough to kill another man with his bare hands, he thought, but discipline had to be maintained.

Motioning to the morning guard, he said, "You, get another man and come back here to me."

The guard hastened to follow his orders, knowing that Cyrus could be peevish in the morning. Cyrus turned to Jayne, spitting a thick wad of mucus on the ground. "Was a stupid thing you did last night, boy." Jayne looked at him coolly. Cyrus continued. "Coulda' been easier on you if you just let things go as God intended. But when a man tries to thwart the will of God,…."

Jayne sneered in disgust. "God weren't nowhere near what you and yours did to that little girl," he hissed.

Cyrus raised one eyebrow. "What do you know about God, heathen? Coming here, taking our land, spreading your immoral ways on our sacred lands…."

"Think you got the wrong guy," Jayne said roughly. "Ain't ever even been on this planet 'til yesterday."

Cyrus looked at him intently. "You were on the ship that landed in the fallow field?"

"What of it?" Jayne said.

"How many were there on that ship? Just the twelve we saw, or were there others inside?"

Jayne scowled. "Go to hell."

Cyrus wrapped a bony hand around the enclosure bars. "You tell me what I need to know, and I will consider letting you live."

"Ask your God, being as how you're the leader of this little piece of go se camp."

Cyrus' lips drew back, revealing blackened gums. "You won't like God's answer, I can assure you," he said, as the two guards returned. Stepping back from the enclosure, he ordered, "Take him out of the group and chain him to the platform support."

With one guard holding the barrel of a gun to his head, Jayne stood still for the other guard to remove him from the chain linking him to the others. Pulling the chain at his waist, the guard aimed him toward the platform. Jayne walked slowly, looking toward the outskirts of the camp intently. He couldn't see Zoe, but he was certain she was there. He held his arms as loosely as the chains would allow, the weight of the knife under his shirt comforting to him as he prepared to make his move.

Cyrus climbed onto the platform with a little difficulty. Clearing his throat, he began his morning oration. "Now you all know what happened here last night. Lost our dear brother Jedadiah to this heathen. Given the strength of ten men from the Devil hisself, this man took the life of our friend and brother in the Lord. But God's wrath is swift, and now we must take our due. An eye for an eye, tooth for tooth, soul for soul."

There was a low murmur of assent from the assembled men. Cyrus continued, "It's only fitting for the avenger to be Jedadiah's kin. Josiah, step on up here."

A young man climbed the platform steps, looking more than a little uncomfortable. Cyrus clapped him on the back firmly. "Now, son, I know this is your first cleansing. But that heathen standing there killed your brother yesterday for doing nothing more than his duty to the camp. You know God's thinkin' on such as that."

Josiah swallowed nervously. "Eye for eye," he murmured.

"That's right, son," Cyrus said. "Now you take your time and aim true. And if'n you do your very best, God'll guide your hand."

Josiah nodded, drawing a deep breath before he raised his sidearm. His hand shook as he fixed Jayne in his sights.

"You ain't got to do this, boy," Jayne said, his voice low and even as his eyes bore into the young man.

Josiah glanced at Cyrus, who nodded encouragingly. "Pay no heed to the heathen's words," he said. "Speaks with the tongue of Satan hisself."

Josiah nodded, licking his licks nervously as he put his finger on the trigger. Holding his breath, he squeezed the trigger and immediately fell forward, a small red hole blossoming on his forehead from Mal's bullet. The guard standing beside Jayne whirled quickly about, searching for the source of the killing shot. Jayne, moving with lightning speed, pulled the knife from the band of his pants and buried it to the hilt in the man's turned back. Reaching around quickly to grab the keys from the dead man's belt, he ducked down behind the body as pandemonium broke out in the camp.

Cyrus, crouching on the platform, yelled, "Fan out. Find the intruders immediately. Protect our home."

Mal, taking careful aim, shot the old man in the throat, cutting his orders abruptly short. Ducking back behind the rocks to reload, he saw David and his men making their way up the slope. Motioning them to take position around the camp, he turned to River. "See that none of the hundans get away," he ordered. "I'm goin' down into the camp to get Jayne."

River nodded, her concentration completely focused on the movement in the camp as she fired her weapon. Zoe, crawling a distance away from them, took up position between two large rocks and began to target the men aiming at Mal as he descended into the camp. Not pausing to watch them drop, she worked methodically, her hands in steady tandem with her eyes and her mind blank save the idea to keep Mal from getting killed until he could reach cover.

Jayne, crouching under the platform, worked the keys into the locks on the chains until his wrists and waist were free. Crawling out into the sunlight, he looked around quickly for a weapon he could use. River, seeing him emerge, dropped a guard a few feet in front of him. Jayne grabbed the man as he fell, retrieving a gun and using it immediately to take out another of Cyrus' men before he could attack. From the hillside, River smiled, thinking that Jayne was indeed a wonder to behold when he was in his element.

Seeing Mal emerge from the brush at the edge of the camp, Jayne headed toward him, clearing a path as he went. "How many men we got with us?" he asked.

"Seven, plus Zoe and River," Mal replied, ducking down as a bullet narrowly missed his head.

Jayne surveyed the situation. "Some of the men in the enclosure wouldn't be averse to some vengeance, if they was armed."

Mal nodded. "You got the keys to free 'em?" Jayne grinned, jangling the keys in the air. "I'll cover you," Mal said. "You get 'em free, and aim 'em in the right direction."

Jayne nodded, crawling forward toward the enclosure as Mal covered him. Reaching the enclosure, Jayne pushed the keys inside to a man with outstretched hands. "Stay low, and head toward the dead 'uns," Jayne said. "They'll have the guns you need."

The man nodded, his eyes wide with fear. "But what if…?" he began.

"Gorram it, you idiot," Jayne shouted above the sound of gun shots. "This is your chance to get the hell outta this place. You gonna argue?"

Snapped to his senses by the rough tone, the man began to unlock the chains that bound him, passing them to the next prisoner as he finished. Jayne turned back to the fight, shaking off a man who lunged at him with a knife before heading back to where Mal was systematically picking off shooters from between the rocks.

Mal, not turning to look at Jayne, asked, "You think all the hundans are in the camp?"

"Not rightly sure," Jayne said, taking up a position behind a neighboring set of rocks. "Last night, most of 'em went into the woods. I reckon that 's where their homes are."

"S'pose if we left 'em be after we took out the ones in the camp that they'd leave the settlement alone?" Mal asked, almost conversationally.

"No," Jayne said more forcefully than he'd intended. "They're animals, Mal. If you'da' seen what they did last night, to that girl and to Zoe…"

Mal's nostrils flared. "That's what River said. Said we can't let any of 'em live."

"Well, she's right," Jayne said grimly, taking aim once more.

XXXXXXXXXX

Out of ammunition, Zoe crawled forward on her belly until she came to the first of the bodies. Turning him over, she saw that it was one of the men who had pawed her on the platform last night. Retrieving his gun, she looked at him more closely. He was young, just beyond a boy himself. Sickened at the thought of what kind of people could produce such evil in one so young, she crawled forward, inching toward the next defensible position. Once there, she sat up behind the rock, taking a deep breath.

A sharp pain stabbed through her abdomen, and she doubled over, gasping for breath. Thus positioned, she saw that a thin sheen of blood covered her thighs. Crying out in pain and frustration, she wrapped her arms around her body and tried to calm the chaotic beating of her heart.

River, hearing the cry, crawled quickly over to Zoe's side. Seeing the blood, she asked, "Were you shot?"

Zoe shook her head. "No," she answered, a terrible finality in her voice. "Not shot."

Her eyes widening with comprehension, River touched Zoe's shoulder softly. "I'm sorry," she whispered.

Zoe straightened her shoulders, brushing her hair back from her face. "Don't be," she said tightly. "Not your fault." And turning back to the task at hand, she aimed her sights at the next enemy she saw.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	12. Chapter 12

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XII—Aftermath**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summery: Mal, River, Jayne, and Zoe clean up the camp, and Simon makes a discovery.

XXXXXXXXXX

When at last the gunfire had faded away and the bodies of the dead lay motionless under the afternoon sun, Mal stood by the platform in the middle of the camp, looking down at the carcass of Cyrus. "So this was the leader?"

Zoe nodded. "Oldest man in the camp, from the look of it. And full of religious fervor, mixed in with a goodly dose of pure evil."

"Enjoyed causing pain," River said, shivering despite the heat of the day. "Twisted, broken, angry inside."

Mal sighed. "Sounds about average for a zealot," he said dryly.

"Sir," Zoe said. "There are women and children in the cabins, some of them hurt and others too scared to come out."

"Best we go on and see to them," Mal said. "Maybehaps some of them match up with the men Jayne set free."

Jayne looked at the group of seemingly dazed men milling about listlessly. "Don't know as they're gonna be any good to us," he said.

"They're in shock," David replied. "I know most of these men. Some of them have been missing from the settlement for over a year."

"A year in captivity to those hundans," Jayne said, the thought making his blood run cold. "Diggin' into the side of this gorram mountain to build a fortification for them."

Mal sighed, tired well beyond the physical. "Put the sick and injured here in the center of the camp. Anybody as has got strength enough to help, gather 'em up and send them over here."

The others nodded, moving to obey Mal's order. Mal turned to David. "You know these people. Probably best if you get 'em organized. I'll ride down to Serenity and get Simon."

David nodded his agreement. "I'll get those as are able to start fashioning some sort of way to get the injured off the mountain."

"You do that," Mal said, stepping over Cyrus' body and heading back to where the horses were tied.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Thought you might could use a cup of coffee," Kaylee said, walking into the infirmary with two steaming mugs.

Simon looked at her gratefully and took the proffered beverage. "Truth is that I had hoped Jim would be making more progress by now," he admitted, running his fingers through his dark hair distractedly.

"I heard you tell Anya he was stable," Kaylee said. "That's good, ain't it?"

"Better than it could have been," Simon acknowledged. "But I'm worried about the damage done to his parietal lobe. Perhaps if we could have gotten him to a trauma center that deals with neurological damage…." He paused. "But as it is, the best I can do is just wait it out. See if he begins to come out of it, and try to ascertain the extent of the damage with the most rudimentary of diagnostic tools."

Kaylee frowned worriedly. "What exactly does the pa…the lobe thing do?"

Simon sighed. "The parietal lobe helps a person process pain and touch sensation. It also seems to play a role in cognition, a person's ability to recognize objects or people, speech, movement, the ability to calculate distance and speed of objects." His words trailed off dispiritedly. Listing the functions that could be irreparably impaired aloud made the situation seem even more dire somehow.

"Oh," Kaylee said, momentarily at a loss for anything positive to say in the face of such news.

They sipped their coffee in the sudden silence, both sobered by the thought of what Jim might have lost. Finally, Kaylee spoke again. "Reckon things are goin' smooth with the Cap'n? I mean, do you suppose he's found Zoe yet? And Jayne?"

Simon rubbed the back of his neck tiredly. "I'm sure he'll let us know as soon as he finds them," he said. Noticing for the first time the dark circles under Kaylee's eyes, he asked, "What about the fuel cells? Any luck with finding an alternate source of power?"

It was Kaylee's turn to sigh. "They drained her good and dry," she said, a hint of despair in her voice. "Ain't got enough to get her off the ground, much less break atmo."

"So, we're stranded," Simon said, thinking privately that not being able to get Jim to a facility equipped to handle major brain trauma lowered the man's chances of recovery even more drastically.

"Looks like," Kaylee said in a small voice.

"Simon," Lily called from the doorway. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was on the bridge, checking any messages left at the house via the Cortex, and I looked out the window. Someone's coming."

Glancing quickly at Jim's monitors, Simon said, "I'll be right there."

Lily turned to look at the man lying motionless on the bed. "I'll stay with him, if you want, Doctor."

"Thank you, Lily," Simon said, heading toward the bridge to see who the mysterious horseman could be.

Kaylee followed on his heels, her heart pounding uncomfortably. Shading their eyes against the glare of the sun on Serenity's transparency, they peered out into the field. As the figure came closer, Simon relaxed visibly. "It's Mal," he said, turning to Kaylee with relief.

Making it through the ship in record time, they got to the cargo bay as Mal dismounted from his horse and punched in the codes to open the door. "Cap'n," Kaylee said, fairly bouncing on her feet, "You found 'em, right?"

"That I did, li'l Kaylee," Mal said, allowing himself a small, tight smile. "Found them, and a bunch of other folk as need a doctor." Turning to Simon, he said, "Need you to ride back with me and see to the sick and injured. David's workin' on rigging up some kinda' way to get 'em back down the mountain, but some of them need to be stabilized before they can be transported."

"But Mal, I can't leave Jim," Simon said with quiet authority. "These next few days are the most critical. He's stable right now, but there's a very real chance he could crash at any time."

"I can come with you, Captain," Lily said from the catwalk. "Before David and I married, I was studying to be a nurse. Perhaps there's something I can do, if no one up there is too badly hurt."

Looking from Simon to Lily and back again, Mal nodded. "Simon, get her a bag of supplies she's like to need. Between her and Zoe and me, maybehaps we can deal with whatever we run across, least 'til we can get 'em back to the settlement."

"Of course," Simon said, hurrying to the infirmary to gather the needed supplies.

Turning back to Kaylee, Mal asked, "How goes the fuel situation?"

"We're stuck Cap'n," Kaylee said. "And there ain't a fuel station anywhere on this planet. I checked the Cortex. Nearest one is on Aberdeen."

Mal swore under his breath. "Aberdeen's more'n two weeks away at full burn."

Kaylee nodded, her wide green eyes somber. "Yep," she said. "Sorry, Cap'n."

"Daddy!" Adam cried before Mal could respond to Kaylee. Rushing into the cargo bay, the little boy ran to his father. "You found them," he said, grinning widely.

"That I did, little one," Mal said, scooping Adam up in his arms.

"And Mama?" Anya asked, trailing after Adam at a more sedate pace. "Is she all right, Captain Mal?"

"Your mama's shiny," Mal replied. "Soon's she helps me see to the other folk up there, we'll all be back and you can see for yourself."

As he spoke, Lily rounded the corner, a large bag of supplies slung over her shoulder. "I'm ready, Captain Reynolds," she said.

Mal nodded, kissing Adam and setting him down gently on the deck. "You children listen to Miss Kaylee whilst we're gone. And come morning when you wake up, we'll most like be back."

Lily smiled, watching the Captain with the children and thinking how very different he was from the hard man who had ridden out at daybreak to retrieve his crew. As if sensing her scrutiny, he turned to her and took the heavy bag from her shoulder. "It's a hard ride. Best we get started."

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal and Lily rode in silence for a time. But as they approached the foothills, Lily spoke. "Captain Reynolds, I ….I'm very sorry for what happened to your people here. I know David would have never agreed for you to come if he had thought…."

Mal looked at her steadily. "Your husband's a good man, Lily. But he is somewhat lackin' in the area of decent forethought. Always has been."

Lily returned his steady gaze. "A fact I can scarcely argue with, considering the current circumstances. I guess what I'm trying to say is that neither one of us would have wanted anything bad to happen to you or your crew. It's just that we've been living for so long in terror of those…people."

Mal nodded shortly in acknowledgement. "They were some bad folk," he said simply.

"Where do you suppose they came from, Captain?" she asked.

Mal shook his head. "Don't know the answer to that, Lily. But I'm fair certain where they're all goin'."

Lily looked at the trail, thinking about what she would see when she arrived at the camp, and setting her mind to the task at hand.

XXXXXXXXXX

River watched the young twin girls clutching each other tightly as if their lives depended on the contact. Zoe walked to her side, watching them as well for several silent minutes. "You think they're gonna be all right?" she asked after a time.

River nodded slowly. "Sharing their pain now. Taking it into themselves and making it smaller than it is. Connected, one to the other, always. They'll never be alone."

"They Readers?" Zoe asked.

"No," River answered. "Only to each other."

Zoe nodded, easing down on a rock as another pain shot through her abdomen. The bleeding had slowed to a trickle, but the pain continued intermittently, and Zoe was fighting hard to keep her own problems at bay until the men and women from the settlement could be seen to. River sat down beside her, offering her silent comfort. "No baby," she said, her tone slightly off-kilter.

Zoe looked at her. "Don't think I want to talk about this right now," she said tightly.

River rose from the rock gracefully, looking at Zoe with sad eyes. "Not what you think," she said softly, walking away without another word.

Too tired to suss out River's meaning, Zoe closed her eyes and tried not to think at all.

XXXXXXXXXX

In an effort to keep himself occupied with something other than staring at Jim's monitors hopefully, Simon began to clean the infirmary. The job was by now mindless and oddly soothing to his jangled nerves. He worked with the same quiet efficiency that had become second nature to him, organizing and arranging everything in its proper place as if by sheer dent of his will he could control his surroundings.

Looking at the locked cabinet that housed the pain meds, he fought the sudden urge to take just one pill to take the edge off his anxiety. He tightened his jaw, angry at himself for even thinking about it at this point, when he needed to be sharp and focused for any emergency. He turned quickly away, reaching for a piece of diagnostic equipment that was sitting out on the counter.

Frowning, he realized that he had not used it while analyzing Jim's labs. Puzzled as to why it should be on the counter instead of in its normal place, he checked the settings. Reading the results that were displayed, he realized why Zoe and Jim had come back to Serenity when he saw that the analyzer was set to test the blood for possible pregnancy. He paused, glancing at the unconscious man on the table. Then, turning back to the equipment, he made a minor adjustment and ran the sample through again.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	13. Chapter 13

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XIII—Genesis and Revelation**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: As the others care for the sick and injured in the camp, River uncovers a clue as to where the camp inhabitants originated.

XXXXXXXXXX

Hearing the patient's shoulder snap back into place with a loud pop, Lily smiled up at Mal. "Very nice counter-resistance, Captain," she said.

"Yeah, well, I'm kinda' known for resistance of one kind or another," Mal replied. Helping the man up and pointing him toward the group of people waiting for transport down the mountain, he stretched the muscles of his back tiredly.

"Why don't you rest a bit, Captain?" Lily suggested, observing the stiff way he held his shoulders. "From what I can see, it looks like I can handle the rest of these poor people. And if I need help, David is just beyond that stand of trees with our men."

Mal looked toward the trees, where he could see David and his men busily stripping branches from the trees to use as supports for the makeshift stretchers. "Think I might just walk around awhile, at that," Mal said, smiling at the small woman. "Maybehaps find where River's gotten off to."

Lily nodded, already turning to her next patient. Mal walked for a short distance, sidestepping the corpses he ran into along the way. He walked the perimeter of the camp before heading to the side of the mountain where the captives had been forced to aid their enemies to build fortifications. Eyeing the vastness of the project, he wondered briefly why the camp dwellers had begun such an ambitious building campaign in the first place.

Jayne came to stand beside him. "Helluva' thing, ain't it?" he said.

"What?" Mal asked, glancing with curiosity at his mercenary.

"Chainin' men to each other and forcing 'em to knock down a gorram mountain."

"Not knocking it down so much as building it into a refuge," Mal replied, looking at the thickness of the wall section that had been built. "Now why do you suppose they did that?" he wondered aloud.

Jayne snorted. "If'n you're gonna start grabbin' womenfolk out of a settlement, I reckon you need to be prepared for the menfolk to follow you and try to get 'em back. Be good to have a place to hole up."

"I conjure you're right," Mal said. Looking back toward the camp, he asked, "You seen Zoe lately?"

Jayne nodded. "She was watchin' over them twins again last I saw her."

"How about River?" Mal asked.

"Said she was going to look into some of the cabins," Jayne replied.

"Thanks," Mal said, heading to find his wife.

XXXXXXXXXX

When Mal found River, she was sitting on the steps of Cyrus' cabin, staring out into the late afternoon light.

"You okay, darlin'?" Mal asked as he took a seat beside her.

River slipped under his arm, resting her head lightly on his shoulder. "I know where the men in the camp came from," she said, her voice small and sad.

"How?" Mal asked. "Did you read it from someone?"

River shook her head. "Read it from some thing," she said, turning to hand Mal a leather-bound book she'd found.

"What is this?" Mal asked as he turned the book over in his hands.

"A personal log, a diary, written apparently by the leader of the first settlers," she replied. "Added to later by other men. Found it inside. Hidden under Cyrus' bed."

"What does it say?" Mal asked, looking at her with concern.

Ignoring the question, River looked up at the darkening sky. "Can't take the people down the mountain in the dark," she observed. "Trail's too difficult. We'll all have to stay through the night."

"I'll go tell the others," Mal said, putting the book aside.

"No, I will," River said, looking at him with suddenly feverish eyes. "You need to read the book." And without a backward glance, she walked toward the platform where the others had gathered.

Flipping to the first page of the journal, Mal started to read.

XXXXXXXXXX

_August 4, 2220_

_Landed on Whittier by the grace of God. Thought we were going to die when the ship ran into the debris. John thought that perhaps it was debris from the neighboring planet, as he couldn't locate any sign of the plamet even with long-range sensors. I suspect perhaps the terraforming didn't hold. Have heard tell of such from others we've met in our long journey. I pray to God that the terraforming holds here, as Whittier seems a good land for farming and raising families. As for families, we're well on the way, with twenty of the families expecting little ones already. Martha says that it was to be expected on such a long voyage, seeing that there was very little else to do but procreate. I could hardly argue, as she is ripe with our own first child. Will venture out farther from the ship tomorrow at first light to begin our new life._

_September 25, 2220_

_Work on the settlement is progressing well, though John gave me bad news this morning. The damage done to the ship is irreparable, he believes. That being the case, I told him to go ahead and salvage what parts he could to use in the settlement. He was able to get the Cortex terminal to work again, though it is hit or miss as to how well it will work at any given time. I've sent word to the government about how the work is progressing, and requested that they send another ship when possible to assure us a way to come and go from Whittier as the need arises. Wonder how long we will have to wait._

_November 12, 2220_

_Martha was delivered of a fine baby boy today. We named him Hiram after Martha's great-grandfather, who was a leader of men on his home world long ago. Looking at his vigorous movements, I think my boy will live up to his name, by the grace of God. It's passing strange to me though that none of the babies born here so far have been girls. Fine-looking, healthy boys, one and all. Hiram is the eighteenth child born to the settlement, so there are still two to go. Perhaps one of them will be the baby girl to break the odd cycle._

_February 18, 2221_

_The winter here is more fearsome than we were expecting. Snowed in for three weeks in our first blizzard. Only yesterday could I finally venture out to see how the other families had fared. Most everywhere I stopped, there was sickness. Aching in the joints, fever, stomach troubles. Doc says he suspects it's just a virus of some sort, and that so many folks came down with it at once because of the severe weather conditions. Not much to do for it but wait it out. At least no one's died._

_May 10, 2221_

_Buried John today. Hardly anyone there to help me do the job, as everyone in the settlement seems afflicted. Wish Doc were still alive. I could use his advice for what to do next. Hiram's been crying for three days straight, and Martha is at her wit's end, trying to keep his fever down with the meager medicine that's left. Sent another wave to the government, but there has been no response. I wonder if the messages are even getting through. Without John's technical know-how, I can only guess._

_August 4, 2225_

_Today marks the fifth anniversary of our landing. Our original group of sixty souls has dwindled down to twenty-seven, but at least the virus that plagued us for the first three years seems to have finally run its course. Truth be told, no one got away untouched. Most of us are still battling with joint pain and fatigue, but perhaps that will lessen with time. As if to mark the importance of today's date, Josephine Smith gave birth to a baby girl today. First one of those to be born into the settlement. Seemed almost poetical somehow that new live should come into our lives today. And on a practical note, it's good to see a female born, especially now that most of our women have been either killed by the virus or rendered infertile. Only three women left able to bear children, and over twenty men who have no mate. My Martha can't have anymore children, and she mourns the loss of it more than she admits, I think. Perhaps her spirits will be lifted with the new little girl in our midst._

_April 26, 2257_

_Found this journal of my father's. Suppose it falls to me to chronicle the events of our lives now, as he was buried beside Mother last month. Josie says it's best to keep some kind of written history, as it is now apparent that we are completely cut off from any government aid. I've moved us into the mountains, because the men in the settlement are becoming increasingly insistent that I share Josie with them as a mate. She's terrified of the prospect. I don't blame her. Something dark has overtaken the men, a kind of perversion that I'm sure God would frown upon. It occurs to me that perhaps the recurrent sicknesses are a result of God's wrath for their perversions. Jacob, who fancies himself a preacher of sorts, has them convinced that the remaining women are property to be shared by all. And the more I protested, the more virulent the mood became in the settlement. Couldn't let them just take her, so we're alone up here. It's a hardship for her, but she doesn't complain, knowing as she does what is happening to the other women. I pray that reason will return. Perhaps as more girls are born, the situation will become more bearable. Every night Josie and I say a prayer that God will bless the fruit of her womb, and give us girls._

_June 28, 2258_

_They came to take Josie back to the settlement. I told her it was for the best, as it was obvious God had gifted her with the ability to bring forth girls. She screamed and cried until they were halfway down the mountain before someone covered her mouth. In my weakness, I will admit that I had no desire to share her with the others. I have prayed to God to forgive me for such selfishness, and to help Josie to see the beauty of her purpose. Once my girls are old enough to bear children, I will make sure they understand their place in God's eternal plan. I vow it. _

_September 3, 2398_

_My people have heard the word of God to come up to his holy mountain to worship. Though we were sad to leave homes and fields, it is better to follow the will of God in all matters. I supplicate him every day that passes to give us fertile women. He made man in his image, and I'm convinced that if we do his will, he will bless us and our land so that we may spread out into the world and serve him as he demands. Surely his face can be softened, and he will not forever deny us the pleasures of a woman to bear our seed. He led me to a little cabin here, where I found the sacred words of the early ones. I will guard this book, and add to it the things God is pleased to reveal to me as the leader of our clan._

_January 5, 2450_

_While I had hoped beyond hope to give a girl child to my brethren in the Lord, it was not to be. My latest is yet another boy, whom I have chosen to call Cyrus. I remember from the ancient writings that Cyrus was a conqueror, and it would seem that we will need one of those to lead our people in this perilous time. The heathens are spreading through the fields we once worked, rebuilding the homes we left so many years ago. But it is clear why God has allowed such a sacrilege. For every trial he permits, he gives a blessing. The heathens have brought women into the world. And one day, by the grace of God, my son may be blessed to see the sign from God to take what bounty he has provided with their coming._

_June 16, 2520_

_My father was right. After years of penance for the sins of our forefathers, today I have been blessed with a vision. I am to live up to my name, and become the conqueror of the heathens. In my weakness, I questioned God, unable to see how to battle the heathens successfully with our meager men. God, in his mercy, showed me the divine plan. He showed me a great fortress, carved out of the holy mountain itself, where we might live and produce sons and daughters to serve his will forever. And still, I questioned him. How could we hope to build the fortress? I asked with a shameful lack of faith. And then, his light shone down on me, and I realized that we must cleanse the land of the heathens and use their own evil strength to accomplish God's will. And as reward for this sacrifice to him, God would give us their women for the taking until we can produce clean, pure children of God from them. I will talk to the others tomorrow, and share this prophecy with them. God be with me and guide my hands to his holy praise._

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal leaned back against the porch support, staring up into the night sky with the journal in his hands. River came to sit beside him quietly. "Amazing and creepifying how quick men can turn from good men to animals," he said softly, a note of genuine sadness in his tone. "And then you add a little hell-bent religiosity, and you got a lethal combination."

River nodded, shivering in the slight chill of the night air. "A little leaven ferments the whole lump," she said, quoting from Book's Bible.

Mal nodded, wrapping his arms around her and pulling her into his warmth. "Suppose that's true," he said. "Makes a man wonder what to teach his son."

River laid her head on his shoulder. "You know what to teach Adam, ai ren," she said, her soft voice full of confidence and love.

"I'm afraid this whole little side trip has taught all of the children things I'd rather they didn't have to know," Mal replied.

River had no reply and the two sat for a long time in silence, looking up at the stars.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	14. Chapter 14

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XIV—Moving the Camp**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: The captured settlers head back home, and Zoe makes it back to Jim.

XXXXXXXXXX

"I can sit a horse just fine," Zoe said evenly.

"Can and should are two very different things," Lily replied, looking at the stubborn woman intently. "I think you should go on one of the stretchers, at least until the bleeding is completely stopped."

"I ain't crippled," Zoe said. "And whatever happened has already happened." Hitching up the pants she'd purloined from one of the dead men, she swung onto a horse. "Dong ma?"

Lily nodded, barely concealing her irritation. "Yes, I understand," she said. "But I don't agree."

"Don't have to," Zoe replied blandly, nudging her horse forward with her knees. "All I want you to do is see to those girls."

"Don't worry about the twins," Lily replied. "David and I have already talked about it."

Zoe nodded, her back ramrod straight as she headed down the mountain without a backward glance.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal and David stood to the side of the trail, watching David's men begin the task of getting the sick and injured down the mountain. "Looks like they know what they're doing," Mal said, acknowledging David's hard work.

"They're good men," David said. "And once we've got everyone back to the settlement, I can round up some others to come back up here and clean this place out for good."

Mal nodded, thinking of the journal he had stuck in his saddlebag. "Found something in the leader's cabin as might explain what happened here, but I don't know that it's a tale worth the telling."

David looked at his friend carefully. "That bad?" he asked softly.

"Disheartening, to say the least," Mal said. "Reckon I'll leave it to you as to whether to tell the others, after you've read it." Reaching back to retrieve the journal, he handed it to David. "Best you think about it long and hard 'fore you make your decision."

David swallowed thickly, thumbing the pages nervously. "All right, Mal," he said. As Mal swung up into his saddle, David added, "Um, Mal, I just wanted to thank you for….well, for saving me and mine again. I suppose we would have just let those hundans pick us off one by one, if you hadn't come. I'm ashamed to say it, but that's probably what would have happened."

"I 'spect sooner or later you'd have gone up there to handle it yourself," Mal said as kindly as he could manage.

"I'm not so sure of that," David replied. "But regardless, I'm beholden to you."

River rode up beside them, breaking the moment. "You ready, ai ren?" she asked.

"Jayne already gone?" Mal asked.

"Left with the first group of men from the enclosure," River replied.

"Well, I guess that's it, then," Mal said. "We're going to Serenity. See you back at the house after awhile," he said to David, turning his attention to the trail.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe slid down from her saddle slowly, the pain in her abdomen gripping in its intensity. Less than half the way down the mountain, she had felt the sticky, warm wetness soaking through her borrowed trousers and she knew the bleeding had intensified again. Her legs felt heavy, and her heart heavier still. Arriving at the ramp, she felt a moment of lightheadedness, the 'verse spinning dizzyingly out of control for a long second of time.

"Zoe," Kaylee called out, her voice jubilant until she had a closer look at her friend. "You been shot?" she asked.

"Not exactly," Zoe replied, concentrating on stabilizing her wobbly legs.

Kaylee rushed down the ramp to steady her. Wrapping her arm around Zoe's waist, she walked her toward the infirmary. "What happened up there, Zoe?" she asked, concern wrinkling her brow. "You're bleedin' awful bad."

"It'll be fine, Kaylee," Zoe answered, holding her voice even and low.

Kaylee refrained from asking again, seeing the devastated look on Zoe's normally impassive face. "Simon," she called as they reached the infirmary. "Look who's back."

Simon looked away from Jim's monitors to see a very pale Zoe leaning against the infirmary door. "How is he?" Zoe asked, suddenly heedless of her own health as she saw Jim lying so deathly still under the bright infirmary lights.

Simon rushed to her side, carefully propelling her toward the other infirmary bed despite her weak attempts to steer herself toward Jim. "He's stable, for now," he answered shortly. "Which is more than I can say for you, judging from the look of things."

"So, he's gonna make it?" Zoe pressed, fighting to stay conscious to hear the answer.

Simon swallowed. "If I have anything to do with it," he said, unwilling to go into detail with her right now about the seriousness of Jim's condition.

Zoe nodded, temporarily mollified by the answer. Shooing Kaylee out of the infirmary and pulling the blinds, Simon turned back to his newest patient. "Zoe, you're losing a lot of blood," he said softly. "I need to examine you."

"Lost the baby," Zoe murmured, closing her eyes against the spinning of the room.

Simon drew a deep breath and answered, "You didn't have time to see the results of the test before you were attacked, I take it?"

Zoe frowned, fighting to open her eyes to see the doctor's face. "No," she replied sluggishly. "No time."

"Zoe," Simon said, picking up her limp hand and holding it as if to give her some of his own strength. "You weren't pregnant." When her brow wrinkled and she opened her mouth to protest, he said, "I'm sure of it. I ran the sample I found through again twice. It was negative for pregnancy."

"Then, what….what's wrong with me?" she asked weakly.

Simon swallowed thickly. "I'd rather not say until I can do a proper examination."

Zoe focused on his face, winning the struggle against unconsciousness as his words sank in. The relief of knowing she had not lost a little life on that gorram mountain side mingled uncomfortably with the dawning realization that Simon looked very grim. Steeling herself for what was to come, she drew a deep breath. "Go ahead," she said.

Simon nodded, gently removing the blood-soaked trousers and cleaning her up as best he could. Working quietly, he was relieved to see that she had apparently not been raped, though he saw the lacerations and bruising at her wrists and ankles.

Zoe, for her part, stared at the infirmary ceiling for a time, trying to ignore Simon's examination as best she could. Turning to stare at the side of Jim's face, she thought about what he would say to her now that it was certain she had not been pregnant. "Did you tell Jim yet?" she asked, her throat tight.

"No," Simon answered absently, engrossed in his exam. "He hasn't been awake yet."

Zoe pondered that statement for awhile as Simon finished his exam and gently repositioned her legs. Drawing off his gloves, he looked at her with gentle concern in his eyes. "I need to get an IV started to rehydrate you," he began. "Then we'll do an abdominal scan."

Zoe nodded, waving her hand almost dismissively. "Whilst you get that done, I want to know about Jim," she demanded.

Simon nodded, gathering the needles and tubing required. "He sustained a substantial blow to the head," he began. Zoe nodded, the sickeningly crack still a fresh memory. "And his skull was fractured. Some of the bone fragments lodged in the parietal lobe, and I had to perform surgery to remove them."

"So you got them all?" Zoe asked, looking at Simon intently.

"I did," Simon replied. "But….there looks to be substantial damage to the brain tissue. Truthfully, I had hoped he would be awake by now, so that I could run some tests to get some idea as to the extent of the damage. Until he wakes up, that's all I can tell you. I'm sorry, Zoe."

"This parietal lobe," Zoe asked. "What does it do?"

Simon told her as gently as possible all the things that the parietal lobe helped a body to regulate. When he finished, Zoe lay still for several minutes, taking in the information. "That's a helluva lot," she said finally, her voice strangely flat.

"Yes," Simon agreed, adjusting the drip on the IV. "It is." Pushing the scanner to the side of Zoe's bed, he smiled encouragingly. "But the fact that his vitals are holding steady is a good sign. Now," he added, pulling up Zoe's shirt. "Let's just get a picture of what's going on with you."

He ran the scanner slowly across her abdomen, taking care to be gentle. They both watched the screen as Zoe's womb came into focus. Seeing exactly what he had thought he would see after the physical exam, Simon sighed.

"What am I lookin' at, doc?" Zoe said, more alert already as the fluids rehydrated her battered body.

"That is your uterus," Simon explained. Pointing, he said, "You see those darker areas?"

"Yes," Zoe replied, craning her head to see. "What are they?"

"When I did the blood tests, there was evidence of some hormonal abnormalities," Simon said. "The dark areas that you are seeing are growths, tumors that are causing your hormones to fluctuate wildly. These kinds of fluctuations often mimic the early stages of pregnancy. That's why you thought you might be pregnant."

"Tumors?" Zoe asked. "They dangerous?"

"I can't really answer that without performing a biopsy," Simon said honestly. "There are many kinds of growths that can occur in a woman's reproductive system, the vast majority of which are relatively harmless. However," he cautioned. "The fact that you are bleeding heavily and the size of several of the tumors indicate to me that we are looking at something that needs to be checked further."

"And how exactly do we check that further?" Zoe asked slowly.

"I will need to do surgery," Simon said.

"All right," Zoe replied in her typical no-nonsense manner. "Soon's Jim's better, we'll do that."

Simon shook his head. "You don't understand, Zoe. This is not something that can wait. I need to do surgery fairly quickly, before you lose more blood than you can spare." Seeing her expression, he added, "And there's something else. Depending on what I find, we might need to talk about what your options will be."

"What do you mean?" Zoe asked, a thousand scenarios popping into her mind at his words, each more devastating than the last.

Simon looked at her intently. "If the tumors are benign, they will need to be removed. If they are not, then they and tissue surrounding them will have to be removed to prevent further complications." Zoe looked at him silently. He went on, "And I can not be certain without actually looking at the area, but the size of the tumors indicate to me that they have a blood supply."

"How could that be?" Zoe asked quietly.

"It could be that they have embedded themselves into your uterine lining," Simon explained.

"Like a baby?" Zoe asked.

"Yes, like a baby," Simon replied. "They could be growing by feeding on the nutrients in your own body."

"And if they are?" Zoe asked.

"Depending on the extent of the infiltration," Simon answered reluctantly. "It might be necessary to remove your uterus to stop the growth of the tumors, stop the bleeding, and eliminate the danger of recurrence."

Zoe swallowed thickly. "No uterus, no chance to have a child," she said.

"I'm sorry, Zoe," Simon said, seeing the pain in her eyes.

Zoe closed her eyes briefly, drawing on her enormous reserve of inner strength. "Don't know as I still wanted one," she said quietly. "But I reckon I'd prefer to have the choice open to me all the same."

"I understand," Simon said. "And if there is any way I can salvage that choice for you, I will. You have my word."

Zoe nodded. "Best you see to the others first then," she said. "There's a few from the camps comin' down the mountain in need of a doctor. I can wait that long, right?"

Simon nodded. "A few hours won't make a big difference either way, if you will lie here quietly and not do anything to get the bleeding started again."

"I can do that," Zoe replied, closing her eyes. "'Magine I could use a nap."

Simon nodded, hearing already the sound of people coming into the cargo bay. Gathering up some supplies, he headed there to see what would be required, his heart heavy with the thought of Zoe's surgery looming in the background.

Hearing him walk away, Zoe turned her head to face Jim's unconscious form. "I'm sorry, Jim," she said softly. "Sorry I wasn't sure before about having your baby, sorry that it might not happen now."

The only answer she received with the steady beep of Jim's monitor. And as she turned back to stare at the ceiling, one small tear rolled down her face and onto the pillow.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	15. Chapter 15

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XV—Waiting**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Simon performs Zoe's surgery, while everyone waits anxiously.

XXXXXXXXXX

Simon straightened himself back up from over his last patient, looking at Lily with something akin to awe. "You've done a superior job treating all these people," he said approvingly. "I don't see how I could have done it any better."

Lily smiled tiredly, slipping an errant strand of hair back behind her ear. "Well, I've had a few occasions to practice my skills since we've been on Whittier, seeing as how there isn't a doctor among us." Looking at the people slowly making their way back toward the settlement, she said, "Of course, I've never had to see to so many at once."

Simon looked at the beleaguered group. "My guess is that in the next few months, the things you will be dealing with will be related to malnutrition and psychological problems," he said slowly. "The malnutrition should be easily handled, assuming the crops are as close to ready as I think they are."

Lily nodded. "Harvest is just around the corner," she acknowledged.

"But the psychological problems," Simon said, rubbing his chin distractedly. "They will be a different matter altogether."

Lily shuddered. "I can't imagine what they must've seen and been forced to do in that miserable place," she said softly. "So much pain and suffering, and all for nothing."

"Guess that's the way of it where humans are concerned," Mal said, walking up to speak with the doctor.

"Suppose so," Lily said a little sadly. Gathering up her skirts, she added, "I think it's time I got back to the house to see to things there. I imagine David is expecting me by now."

Mal nodded and reached to shake her hand. "I appreciate your help in all this, Lily."

"It was the least I could do, considering how you came to be here to begin with," she said solemnly.

Simon interrupted the moment. "Um, actually, I was wondering if you might stay for a bit longer, if you think you can."

"Of course," Lily said. "If I'm needed."

Turning to Mal, Simon explained, "I could use an extra hand in the infirmary with Zoe's surgery. And I thought that, since it's Zoe, you might not…." His words trailed off uncomfortably.

Mal nodded. "Think I'd like to just pace outside the infirmary and do my worryin' there, doc," he admitted. "Ain't rightly sure Zoe would want me rummagin' around in her…." He paused, his ears turning bright red as he tried to think of how to phrase it. "Well, you know what I mean," he said finally.

Simon smiled slightly. "Yes, I think I do," he said. Turning to Lily, he asked, "So, did you do any training in a surgical setting?"

"Not much," she admitted, swallowing nervously. "But hopefully enough for what needs doing."

"That's good then," Mal said, relieved not to be the one who had to assist Simon with this particular surgery. He'd worked on Zoe on any number of occasions, but this time he had been secretly concerned that he wouldn't be able to do the job she needed done. "Think I might talk to her a minute before you start?"

Simon nodded. "Of course. I'd like to go over the general procedure with Lily anyway."

Mal turned, heading to the infirmary to talk with his best friend.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe lay with her eyes closed, listening to the steady beep of Jim's monitors and trying to brace herself for the possible outcomes of the upcoming surgery. Mal stood for a moment at the infirmary door, noting with genuine dismay how pale she looked under the bright lights.

"Ain't dead just yet," she said softly, opening one eye to look at him.

"Didn't think you were," Mal replied, stepping into the room. "Just lookin' at the lay of the land, so to speak."

Zoe snorted. "That a fact?"

"I didn't come here to be insulted," Mal said, grinning to lighten the words. "I can get insulted anywhere on this boat. Came here to make sure you ain't got any plans to go anywhere just yet."

Zoe swallowed thickly, knowing without further words what Mal was saying. "No, no plans," she said blandly. "Not quite done with you just yet."

"Good to know," Mal said, swallowing back a fist-sized lump in his throat and touching her hand lightly. Clearing his throat, he said, "So, Simon's 'bout ready to do this thing, and I'll be right outside, overseein' it all."

Zoe nodded. "So you couldn't stand to assist, sir?" she said, a miniscule smile curving her lips.

"It ain't like that at all," Mal said, pretending great offense. "Why, I…"

Zoe interrupted him. "It's all right, sir. Hell, I'd get someone else to do my part of it if I could." Pausing, she turned serious. "Just one thing, sir. If anything should go amiss, I'd be obliged to you if you'd look after Jim for me. And Anya, she'll be needing…."

It was Mal's turn to interrupt. "She'll be needing her mother," he said firmly. "And that's exactly what she's gonna get. That's an order, soldier. Dong ma?"

Zoe nodded, closing her eyes and sighing deeply. "Yes sir."

XXXXXXXXXX

The crew slowly gathered outside the infirmary door, each of them drawn to the scene with both hope and dread. Zoe was an anchor on the crew, an immoveable object that tempered Mal's irresistible force, and each crew member was acutely aware of what she was to them all.

Mal paced, moving in the small space like a caged animal. River sat on the couch, holding Hannah close and radiating as much calm as she could muster. Inara talked softly, her words soothing to Anya, who rested her head on Inara's shoulder like she hadn't done in quite awhile. Adam alone seemed fine, busily coloring a picture in a book that Kaylee had provided.

"What's taking so long?" Mal asked, tempted once again to go into the infirmary to see for himself.

"It's a delicate procedure," River replied, willing her husband to be calm for Anya's sake. "And I'm certain Simon is taking extra time to be sure he is handling everything perfectly."

Mal rolled his neck slowly, stretching the shoulder muscles that were bunched in tension. "I know, bao bei," he said grudgingly. "Just nerve-wracking is all."

Kaylee cleared her throat, trying to think of something to distract them all from their communal worry for Zoe. "Any news about the fuel?" she asked.

Mal looked at her blankly for a moment, as if he could not remember what she was talking about. Finally, he said, "Nothing other than what you told me already."

Jayne shifted uncomfortably, used to more action than waiting. "What about the ship the settlers came in?" he asked. "Would think they wouldn't mind partin' with some fuel, 'specially since we got rid of their pest problem for 'em."

Mal shook his head. "Already checked. It was just like I figured. These settler ships are fueled for a one-way trip only. Alliance doesn't want them to leave once they're here. Bad for the colonizing business."

"So, there is no fuel available anywhere on this planet?" Inara asked. "That seems hard to believe."

"Not really," Mal replied. "The settlers that come all the way out here don't intend to leave once they're settled. And, supposedly, supply ships will be by with the things they need until the settlements are established. 'Course, we all know that ain't strictly true. David confirmed there's been no shipment of goods to Whittier in three years."

"How can they live without those shipments?" Inara asked.

"Off the land," Kaylee said softly. "'Cept for the people being took from the settlement, they were doing pretty good. Crops are beginning to come off, and they had their houses built, and a good water supply."

Mal nodded. "Self-sufficient as far as that goes."

"But they have no way to leave if they want?" Inara pressed.

"Nope, not unless a ship comes by," Mal replied. "That's why they stayed through all the disappearances and the like. Nowhere to run."

"Well, havin' crops is all well and good, but that don't exactly help us, now does it?" Jayne said, thinking aloud.

The others said nothing, as there was nothing left to say.

XXXXXXXXXX

Lily looked compassionately at the sleeping woman, glad in this moment that she would not be on Serenity when Zoe awoke.

"Lily," Simon said crisply, bringing her attention back to the task at hand. "Clamp that bleeder for me please."

Embarrassed by her momentary lapse, Lily complied, quickly clamping the bleeder and suctioning the area so that Simon could see what he was doing. Cutting off a small sample of the diseased tissue, he placed it carefully on a slide. "Take that to the scanner if you will, Lily," he said. "And start analyzing it for me."

"I…I don't know how to do that," she said anxiously.

"Just slip the slide inside the scanner," Simon replied, not able to look up at just that moment to see her look of panic. "Don't worry. I've already set it for the correct tests. Just turn the knob on the right side, and then come back to assist me. The scanner will let us know when the analysis is complete."

Lily did as she was told, quickly returning to the table to help Simon. She watched the smooth slide of the laser scalpel as he neatly excised the tumors, cauterizing the blood vessels as he worked to minimize blood loss. Working in near silence, he examined the surrounding tissue for any sign of disease or damage. In minutes, Lily heard the slight beep of the scanner as it completed the analysis.

Simon laid the scalpel down on the tray carefully and moved to read the results quickly. Cursing quietly at what he saw, he turned back to the operating area. "I'd like to run another one from another area to be certain," he said, his voice tight with worry. Cutting another small piece from a different tumor, he handed the slide to Lily, who repeated the original process. Turning back to Simon, she saw that he stood motionless, looking into the surgical field with a terrible expression on his face.

"What…what did it say?" she asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"It indicated malignancy," Simon said, still frozen over Zoe's open abdomen.

"So, she….she's gonna die?" Lily asked.

Simon looked at her sharply, his normally cool exterior gone. "No, she's not going to die," he said emphatically. We're going to confirm the results first, and then….."

The scanner beeped again, and they both turned to the readout expectantly. "Same thing," Simon said a little sadly.

"I'm sorry, Doctor," Lily said. "I can see how much she means to you all."

Simon pulled his professional demeanor back on like a coat of armor. "We need to finish this up," he said calmly. "Don't want her to lose any more blood than she has to."

Lily nodded, saying nothing further as the doctor began the long thin cut that would remove Zoe's last chance of bearing children permanently.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jim heard a persistent beeping noise somewhere close by, but he couldn't discern what it could be nor exactly where it was coming from. Thinking to look around, he realized that his eyes seemed to be closed. He wondered what to do about that, but could come to no solution. He felt wrapped in cotton, his brain working sluggishly as he tried to formulate more than minimal thought. Something, he thought for a fleeting second, something bad was happening. But the thought was elusive, slipping through his mind like water through a sieve.

He slipped back into the murky place he'd inhabited for….He paused, unable to think how many days it had been. Time seemed to bend strangely in this place, and he tried to concentrate on what that could mean. He reached out with his mind, seeking information to orient himself in this strange world, but there was nothing substantial there, nothing that did not fade away with his slightest attempt to grasp it.

There was something….something important to do, he thought briefly. Someone he needed to be with, some shadowy thing that pressed softly but insistently at the edges of his consciousness. Exhausted with the effort of pushing forward through the thick dense nothingness, he sank back down into it, his mind quiet once more.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	16. Chapter 16

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XVI—Options**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Simon discusses Zoe's treatment options with Mal, and River makes an unwelcome suggestion.

XXXXXXXXXX

Simon stepped out into the corridor, where everyone was anxiously awaiting news. "The surgery went well," he said, thinking that technically it was not a lie so much as a misdirection. "She'll be out of it for a couple of hours yet, so you can come back to visit a little later."

Everyone nodded in relief, feeling as if they had dodged a bullet of their own. Simon continued, "Um, Captain, if I could speak with you privately for a moment?"

Mal nodded, motioning the others to go about their business. Turning to Simon as the last of the group walked out of ear shot, he said, "So, Zoe's okay?"

"No, not okay," Simon said, hating how Mal's hopeful look fled his face so quickly. "She's stable, and I removed the tumors and stopped the bleeding. But," he paused for a moment, dreading saying the words aloud. "They were malignant, Mal. I removed her womb to increase the chances that the malignancy will not spread, but that is at best a preliminary measure."

"What else has to happen to make her well?" Mal asked, intent only on solving this problem as rapidly as humanly possible.

"There's a drug, fairly expensive, that is being haled as the wonder drug for this particular type of malignancy," Simon said.

"Well, then, let's get it," Mal said.

Simon ran his fingers distractedly through his hair. "It's not widely available, even on most Core worlds. And there's another thing too."

Mal had the sudden urge to shake the information out of him, but restrained himself at the last moment. "What?"

"For the drug to be completely effective, the treatment must be administered within a short timeframe of onset of the disease."

"Is Zoe past the timeframe?" Mal asked, his pulse beating rapidly in his throat.

"I don't think so," Simon replied. "But, judging from what I saw today, she will be soon. Maybe as little as two months."

"Where's the nearest Core world that has the drug?" Mal asked.

"Osiris," Simon said quietly.

"Osiris?" Mal replied in dismay. "That's halfway across the system from here. At full burn, it'd take us almost a month to get there, assuming that we had fuel, which we don't."

"I know," Simon said simply. "But if we don't get the drug, her chances fall dramatically. And, though I hesitate to mention it, Jim is in need of more neurological care than I can provide here."

"Are there facilities on Osiris that would do what needs doing for him too?" Mal asked.

Simon nodded. "Some of the finest facilities in the Core."

"Then we're going to Osiris," Mal said firmly, turning to head to the bridge.

"How?" Simon asked.

"Still working on it," Mal grated out, never breaking stride.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal leaned back against the pilot's chair tiredly. Having searched the Cortex for hours, he was still no closer to finding a refueling vessel from Aberdeen that would make the trip for what he was able to offer.

River glided gracefully onto the bridge and rested her hands lightly on his shoulders. "No luck?" she asked quietly.

"None," Mal replied. "And I can't say as I blame them. Long trip for what we got to offer."

River moved to curl into his lap. "We need coin."

Mal sighed. "Lots of it, from the look of things. Least estimate I got was for more than we've managed to bring in this entire year. And even if we had the money to get the fuel delivered, we'd still have to come up with some way to pay for Zoe's meds. Simon said they were pricey. Not to mention whatever Jim might need." Seeing River's quizzical expression, he added, "And we ain't got time to figure how to steal them."

River stared up at him for several minutes, her mind calculating and discarding possibilities faster than should be possible. "Jim will be cared for," she said finally. "Still has his medical benefits from the Alliance Army, right?"

Mal nodded, smiling slightly at the first good news he'd heard in what seemed a veritable lifetime. "Suppose that's so," he said. "Though I'm ashamed to admit it hadn't crossed my mind."

River went on, warming to her idea. "And Zoe's meds could be paid for if she were married to Jim. It worked when you did it."

Mal grimaced. "Don't remind me," he said. Tapping on the arm of the pilot's chair, he added, "Though it ain't a bad notion, considerin' they were like to get hitched someday anyway. Could maybe hurry that along a little. But we still got the issue of gettin' Serenity in the air."

"I know someone who has a lot of money," River said carefully, knowing that her next suggestion would meet with major resistance. "And he'd be willing to help, if we could promise him something in return, I believe."

Mal looked at her curiously. "And who might this mystery man be?" he asked.

Steeling herself for the inevitable fallout, River said softly, "My father."

Mal set her on her feet and jumped out of the chair. "Ain't gonna happen, River," he said tightly. "Ain't gonna be beholden to him, no matter what happened the last time we saw him."

"But ai ren," she said softly. "We promised to take Hannah to see my parents when she was born. And now, we have to go to Osiris anyway to get Zoe and Jim the help they need. Why not handle everything at once?"

"We can visit as you like when we get to Osiris," Mal said, his jaw set determinedly. "But I ain't asking him for money."

"But he'd be glad to pay the transport to see his grandchildren again," River insisted.

"And you expect me to just ransom my children to get a ride to Osiris? What kind of man do you think I am, River?"

River squared her shoulders and looked at him intently. "The kind of man who can swallow his pride long enough to ensure the health and safety of the woman who has been at his side longer than any other living soul," she said, a hint of steel in her voice.

Mal looked at her, the wind going out of his argument at her stark words. "We can't contact them directly," he said finally, giving in as gracefully as he could manage. "Would put them and us in danger. BlueSun might still be monitoring their communications."

"Leave that to me," River said, kissing his cheek softly. "You're doing the right thing, ai ren."

"Remains to be seen," Mal said gruffly, hoping to the heavens that she was right.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe awoke in a drug-induced fog, her mind meandering slowly into consciousness. She opened her eyes carefully, wincing at the bright infirmary lights. Simon dimmed the lights immediately and came back to her side to smile down at her. "Welcome back," he said softly.

Zoe coughed, the spasm causing her incision to pull painfully. "Good to be back, I think," she replied. Turning to look at Jim, she said, "He been awake yet?"

"No," Simon said. "Not yet, but his vitals are holding steady now."

Zoe nodded, the small motion making her head swim. "And me? What'd you find out?"

Simon licked his lips nervously, and began. "We stopped the bleeding and removed the tumors," he said, his voice calming. "But the tissue samples we took showed a malignancy."

Zoe stared at him, her dark brown eyes like unfathomable pools. "And?" she prompted.

"And, I had to remove your womb, Zoe. I'm sorry."

Zoe closed her eyes for a moment. Then, opening them again, she said blandly, "Any chance it's spread beyond my womb?"

"Yes, there is a chance of that," Simon said. "But there are treatment options available, some of them with an almost one hundred percent chance of success."

"More surgery?" Zoe asked.

"No," Simon replied. "A drug regimen that has been amazingly effective at eliminating this type of malignancy."

"Side effects?" Zoe asked.

Simon cleared his throat. "It's a fairly new drug. I am not aware of all the side effects, but I will be doing research on it now that you need it."

"Thank you, Simon," Zoe replied, feeling strangely hollow inside, as if a part of her soul had suddenly been excised. She tried to fight the urge to fall back asleep, but the pain meds were too strong. Her eyelids fluttered weakly.

"We'll talk more when you've had a little more rest," Simon said gently, though he wasn't sure she heard it as she fell back into slumber.

XXXXXXXXXX

Adam walked quietly to Anya's room and opened the door. Peering into the semi-darkness, he made out Anya's shape lying curled into the bed, clutching a pillow tightly to her chest. Crawling up beside her, he whispered, "They're gonna be all right, you know."

"No, I don't know that," Anya said, her voice muffled by the pillow. "That's what everybody says, but it isn't always the truth, is it?"

Adam contemplated that thought for a moment. "Most times, it turns out all right if'n they tell us it will," he said finally.

Anya turned to look at him, her cheeks tear-stained and red. "You would tell me if you saw something, right?"

"Like what?" Adam asked, frowning.

"Like if you saw something bad was gonna happen, you would tell me, right? Not just let me think everything is shiny?"

"I'd tell you, Anya," he said solemnly, looking at her with huge eyes.

Anya wiped her tears with the sleeve of her pajamas. "Okay then," she said, pulling herself together a little more. "Past your bedtime, isn't it?"

"Just wanted to talk to you," Adam said sincerely. "Heard you crying."

"Sorry," Anya said, forcing a smile onto her face. "I'm better now."

"Liar," he replied.

"Well, I'm gonna be," she answered. "Doctor Simon said that tomorrow I can see Mama."

Adam smiled. "She'll like that," he said. Touching his friend's sleeve, he said, "If you want, I'll stay in here tonight. Keep you company and such."

Anya smiled at his word choice, so very like his father's. "I'd like that," she said, pulling the covers back so that he could climb in. "Only no stealing my covers in the middle of the night."

Adam grinned. "I never do that," he protested, wiggling under the covers closer to her.

Anya laughed, laying her head on the pillow and allowing herself to drift off into a light sleep.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	17. Chapter 17

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XVII—Looking Up**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: River sets her plan in motion, and Zoe has a talk with Jim.

XXXXXXXXXX

River knocked lightly on the front door of the Lambert house, feeling the slight rush of breeze stir her skirt against her bare legs. In moments, Lily Lambert opened her door. "Mrs. Reynolds," she said kindly, "Won't you come in?"

River stepped into the cool interior. "Please call me River," she said softly. "After all that's happened, it seems silly to stand on ceremony."

"Suppose you're right, at that," Lily said as she motioned River to go into the front parlor of the farm house. "I hope that everything is all right on Serenity, and that your visit is just a social call."

River sat in one of the overstuffed chairs in the parlor, resisting the urge to draw her knees up to her chest to get comfortable. "There is no immediate emergency," she said delicately. "But I have come to ask a favor of you."

"Name it."

River paused for a moment, as if tasting the air around her. Though she liked Lily instinctively, she felt a vague unease about revealing too much. Fleetingly, she realized that Mal's natural discretion must be rubbing off on her. "I need to contact someone through the Cortex," she said.

Lily frowned. "I thought Serenity's Cortex link was working fine."

"It is," River explained. "But this is a matter of some…delicacy. And it would be much better if Serenity's link could remain unused for this particular message."

Lily looked at the younger woman carefully, trying to divine if there was danger in granting her request. After several moments of silence, she said, "Our Cortex link is in David's office. You're of course welcome to use it."

River smiled, relieved to have gotten this far in the conversation without incident. "That is very kind of you, Lily, but I…I'm afraid I need you to help me send the message."

Lily's brow wrinkled in confusion. "Why?" she asked.

River hesitated. "It could be….unpleasant for both Serenity's crew and the recipient of the message if….the communication came to the attention of the wrong people. If you would be willing to read the message exactly as I've written it, that unpleasantness can be avoided, with no harm to us, the recipient, or to your family." Seeing Lily's expression, she continued, "The chances that the communication would even be questioned if it came from you are incalculably small."

"I see," Lily said, rolling the information over in her mind. "Perhaps I could read the message before I give you my answer?"

"Certainly," River said, producing a small slip of paper written in her elegant penmanship. "It will be a way for Serenity to acquire the fuel needed to get back into the Black and out of your field."

Lily nodded, taking the proffered paper and reading the message. "And your contact will understand this message if I read it, without asking questions that I don't know the answer to?" she asked when she finished.

"Yes," River said. "There will be no questions. Only a reply, which I assume will be an unqualified 'yes'."

Lily nodded. "When do you want it sent, and to what wave coordinates?"

River's smile lit her eyes. "Now, if you would be so kind," she replied. "And I will key in the coordinates for you."

Lily's lips curved into an answering smile. "Let's go, then," she said, leading River to David's office.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe cautiously slid her legs over the side of the bed and very slowly stood. When the room quit spinning dizzyingly, she took a small step forward, wincing as she straightened her back and inadvertently pulled the stitches of her incision. Familiar enough with wound care to realize that she needed to stand straight now or she might never stand straight again, she swallowed thickly and walked to Jim's bedside, using the IV stand as support.

"You somewhere in there, baby?" she asked. "'Cause there's some things we need to suss out, I figure." She paused, hoping wildly for Jim to open his eyes and smile at her. Shaking her head at her own foolishness, she continued. "Just so you know, I'm here. Those hundans that jumped us are dead, and they didn't hurt me." She paused for a moment, uncomfortable with the small lie regardless of Jim's ability to hear her. "Well, not too badly, anyway," she amended. "And Simon's done a fine job of working on you, too. So, you'll be back to yourself in no time, I'm sure." Her voice faltered slightly before she reined in her emotion. "Don't know if you heard in all the commotion, but …I wasn't pregnant, it turns out. I was wrong about that. Simon found some problems that made it seem like I might be, but there was never any baby." She stopped, feeling the need to sit down. Gently, she edged herself onto the side of Jim's bed. "And, well, there's no good way to say it, other than to say that there ain't ever gonna be one. If I'm being truthsome, I didn't even know that you wanted one, 'til you were so happy when I told you I might be carryin' your child. S'pose we never did get around to talkin' about it before. But, now that I do know, I'm real sorry it ain't gonna happen. Guess when you're up and about we need to suss out what that means for us." She swallowed hard. "I mean, I don't want to be the reason there ain't a little Jim runnin' around, if that's what you want."

She stopped, looking at Jim's expressionless face for any sign that her lover was in there somewhere, listening to her words. "Jim, I'd take it as a kindness if you'd open your eyes. Anya's real worried about you. She needs a little reassurance that you're in there somewhere." She paused. "I need reassurance that you're in there. I know it ain't exactly the best time, what with your injuries and all, but I'm thinkin' I'm gonna be needing you in the next little bit. So, if you can, come back to me sooner rather than later. Dong ma?"

She thought for a moment that she saw Jim's eyelids flutter slightly, as if he was trying to open his eyes. But the moment passed, and she wondered if perhaps she had simply imagined it. Taking his hand briefly, she said, "Well, just thought it was worth a shot. Guess you're needing to rest some more and that's shiny. Just…." she squeezed his hand before letting it drop back to the bed. "Just don't rest for too long." And moving slowly back to the other infirmary bed, she carefully climbed in, pulled the blanket up to her chest, and closed her eyes.

XXXXXXXXXX

River danced into Mal's bunk, humming happily.

"You're a mite more cheerful than the rest of us," Mal said, looking up from his desk.

"And with good reason," River said, smiling brightly. "Daddy understood the message. He's sending a refueler here now. They should be on their way within the hour."

Mal couldn't help but smile in return. "So, we should be able to leave here in two weeks?"

River nodded and leaned down to kiss his cheek.

"And you're sure the message was safe?" Mal asked.

"Lily talked to my father. I wrote down the message and she delivered it. I highly doubt anyone eavesdropping would realize what was really going on, as their discussion centered around a fuel shipment to the Lambert Farm, which has conveniently become one of Daddy's new investment opportunities. And she happened to mention that she had some house guests."

"You did remember to use the code names, didn't you?" Mal asked.

River rolled her eyes. "Of course," she replied.

Mal thought about it for a moment. "Guess that leaves us with some time on our hands," he said, running his hands down River's arms lightly.

"It would seem so," River replied, her eyes lit with fire from within.

"Could go see if the children are asleep," he suggested just to watch her reaction.

"They're asleep," she replied as she leaned forward slightly.

"Maybehaps check in on Zoe and Jim," he said, warming to his game.

"They're sleeping too," River said, looking up at him expectantly. Preempting his next suggestion, she said, "And so are Kaylee and Simon and Jayne and Inara. Well, not Jayne and Inara, but they do not wish to be disturbed."

Mal smiled wickedly, pulling her into his arms. "Fancy a game of tall card, then?" he whispered against her ear.

River sighed, tiring of the game and eager to use her time in more pleasurable pursuits. Tilting her head, she very deliberately licked the line of the scar on Mal's ear. "Depends on what we're playing for," she replied, her voice a sultry low vibration that sent a shiver down Mal's spine.

"That just ain't fair," he said, brushing his lips lightly against her neck.

River laughed, trailing her hands along his lean, muscled back. "Doesn't have to be," she replied just before he captured her mouth in a passionate kiss.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jayne hissed as Inara removed the dressing from his forearm. "Gorram it, Inara," he said as she dabbed antiseptic on the wound. "Hurts like a …"

Inara kissed him lightly, stopping his complaint in mid-sentence. "If you would prefer Simon to do it, I'm sure he would be delighted to accommodate you. Why don't I just get him?" she said evenly.

"Don't need Simon to do it," Jayne grumbled. "That stuff just always burns."

Inara looked at him sympathetically. "One would think you'd be used to it by now," she said, looking pointedly at several scars.

"Don't expect a man ever gets used to having a piece of hot lead go through his arm," he said.

"No, I suppose not," Inara answered, carefully wrapping up the wound in a new sterile dressing. Looking at him intently, she said, "I'm sorry for what happened to you on the mountain."

"I've had worse," Jayne shrugged, shifting uncomfortably on the bed.

Inara climbed in beside him, her body molding to his now from long force of habit. "I know it bothered you, love," she said softly. "You haven't been yourself since you came back."

Jayne drew a deep breath, the movement of his chest causing Inara's curls to sway gently.

"It weren't like nothin' I've ever been through before," he admitted. "Bad enough to wake up and find myself chained like a dog to three other men, but to see what those hundans were doin', how they were sayin' it was God's will for all that go se to be goin' on, actin' like it was their sacred duty to take those women for themselves, and force their men to be slaves….well, it was downright unsettlin'."

Inara nodded, stroking her fingertips soothingly across his chest. After a long moment, he continued, "If'n you'd'a gone ridin' with me like I asked you to, they'da' got you too. Not too sure I coulda' stood it if you'da' been up there on that platform with Zoe."

"But I wasn't, Jayne," Inara said softly.

"Can't help thinkin' that some of those men chained up in that pen watched that happen to their women. Must have made 'em all manner of angry, 'til I reckon they just got hollowed out with it. Most of 'em were just sittin' there on the ground, starin' at the gorram platform like they didn't give a rat's ass what happened anymore." He paused, shuddering at the memory. "Heard tell of that happenin' to folks. They can get so beat down that they won't try to get away, even if they got the chance. When we got 'em loose, weren't but a handful of 'em even tried to help us fight the hundans."

"That's actually common for people who have suffered some horrible event," Inara said. "They just…shut down, so to speak."

"Reckon it's permanent?" Jayne asked, thinking about the hollow-eyed stares of some of the released men.

"I'm sure they'll get the help they need," Inara said.

Jayne stared at the bulkhead. "Speaking of getting the help you need, d'you talk to Zoe yet? I mean, since we heard what all's wrong with her?"

"No," Inara answered. "I thought it best to leave her to rest for awhile before I visit her. Have you?"

Jayne swallowed nervously. "Don't know 'xactly what to say if'n I was to go," he admitted.

"Then perhaps you should just stick with the truth," she suggested. "That you are glad she is back on Serenity, and that you appreciate how her quick thinking helped to give you the advantage you needed to break free from the enclosure."

Jayne stroked his chin thoughtfully for a moment. "I could do that," he said finally.

"Good," Inara said. "Perhaps tomorrow would be soon enough for both of us."

XXXXXXXXXX

Jim opened his eyes slowly, his brain not quite registering that they were open for a disorientingly long moment. He tried to figure out where he was. This was surely not Serenity's infirmary, he thought, seeing the room he was in extending well past an infirmary the size of which seemed enormous. His head felt thick, as if it was wrapped in soft, wool cloth. He tried to grasp the thought of where he might be, but the harder he tried to hold onto it, the farther away it became, until it faded into a dim feeling of unease. He willed his body to move and noted with rising panic that his body was no longer taking commands from his conscious brain. Spiraling back into the swirling gray of unconsciousness, he noted with some startlement that, at some point, his eyes had closed.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	18. Chapter 18

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XVIII—Stubborn**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Mal and Zoe disagree, and David extends an invitation.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Ain't gonna happen, sir," Zoe said flatly.

Mal blinked rapidly several times, nonplused by Zoe's refusal. "What do you mean, it ain't gonna happen?"

Zoe drew a deep breath. "Just what I said, sir."

Mal pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. "You understand that these drugs Simon's talking about will ensure that you don't have any more problem with…" He waved his hands in the general direction of Zoe's abdomen.

"Yes, I do," Zoe replied.

"So why in the sphincter of hell would you refuse to take them?" Mal's voice was becoming increasingly loud.

Zoe looked at him oddly for a beat. "I'm not refusin' to take the drugs," she explained. "I'm just gonna have to come up with another way to get 'em."

Mal frowned. "Look, Zoe, there isn't another way to get them, at least not one we can work out in time for them to do you any good." He paused, the thought of what might happen to Zoe without the medication hanging heavily in the silence. "You and Jim, well you've been gettin' along well enough, haven't you?"

Zoe closed her eyes, really not wildly interested in discussing her relationship with Jim with Mal. "Yes."

"Then what's the outstanding issue?" Mal pressed.

Zoe angled herself up to sit straight in the bed. "I ain't gonna marry him 'less he can ask me himself, and certainly not just to get meds. If I were to marry him, it would be because I love him and want to spend the rest of my days with him. Dong ma?"

Mal resisted the impulse to point out that the rest of her days might be a gorram short timeframe if she continued to refuse to use the option that was available to her. "Zoe," he began again, carefully keeping his tone calm. "I know marriage is a big step, at least usually. But this is different. You ain't got the luxury of having it just as you want it." He paused, noting the grim determination in her face. "And how do you think Jim's gonna feel, if he wakes up and discovers that you allowed yourself to….to get worse off just because he couldn't ask you himself?" There was an oppressive silence while Zoe contemplated that prospect. "I'm askin' you to do this, if not for yourself, for Anya and Jim….and for me," Mal added quietly.

"I can't, Mal," Zoe said after long minutes of silence. "Wouldn't be right to Jim to just use him to get the meds, no matter that he might offer if he could. The point is, he can't. And I ain't gonna use him, ain't gonna treat marriage to him like nothing more than a convenient way to get something I want."

Mal sighed, recognizing the finality of her words. "Then, we'll just have to find another way," he said, his piercing blue eyes steady as he looked at his best friend.

Zoe nodded, acknowledging without words the compromise he was making in her behalf.

XXXXXXXXXX

As David strode up Serenity's ramp, Kaylee greeted him. "You lookin' for the Cap'n?" she asked after exchanging pleasantries. "'Cause I think he's in the infirmary with Zoe."

"And how is Zoe?" David asked, concern wrinkling his brow. "Lily told me about the surgery."

"Well as can be expected, I guess," Kaylee said. "She's up and walkin' around a bit. Nothin' much keeps her down, you know."

David nodded. "Yes, I know. She's one of the strongest women I've ever met. " After a beat, he added, "So you think it would be all right for me to pop my head in and say hello?"

"That'd be shiny," Kaylee said, smiling. "I'll walk with you."

The two walked in amiable silence until they reached the infirmary. "Looks like they're talkin' about something serious," Kaylee said, peering into the windows. "Maybe we'd best wait a minute."

David nodded, not eager to interrupt whatever was making the two in the infirmary look so grim. Kaylee sat down and patted the chair beside her, which David filled gratefully. "So, how are those two girls?" Kaylee asked. "The twins?"

"Well as they can be, given what they've been through," David said. "Lily and I have talked about it, and if it's agreeable to them, we're plannin' to take them in permanent-like. Their parents are both gone now, and they're still too young yet to stay on their own."

Kaylee smiled encouragingly. "I'm sure they'll be just fine, once they're all settled in," she said.

"It'll be good to have someone else to look after," David replied. "You know, Lily and I couldn't have any children of our own."

Just as Kaylee was about to comment, Mal came out of the infirmary, his jaw set in a hard line. David rose, almost hesitant to say anything. He'd seen that look on Mal's face before. Visibly shaking himself out of his mood, Mal asked, "What brings you out this morning?"

"Just thought you'd like to know that work is progressing well up at the camp. Several of the men from the settlement are up there now, finishing things up. Bodies are all buried, and those as belonged to the settlement have been brought back down the mountain to be buried with their folks," David said. "There's gonna be a service out at the church this afternoon. Didn't know if any of your folks would like to come."

Jayne walked around the corner. "I'd like to come," he said, surprising everyone with the sentiment. "What?" he asked, observing their astonished looks. "Only right to pay respects to the dead, ain't it?"

Mal nodded. "Guess you're right, at that." Turning to David, he said, "Some of us'll be there."

"Thank you," David said. "It'll mean a lot to the families, I conjure." Everyone stood still for a moment, thinking about all the families affected by the horrible events. "Anyway, I also wanted to say that Lily tells me there's a refueler headed here from Aberdeen."

"Yep," Mal said. "Should be here in two weeks."

"In the meantime," David said, "Lily and I would like it if you'd come back to the house and stay with us. Maybe get in a little bit of farming."

Mal paused, thinking about how excited Adam would no doubt be at the prospect. "I appreciate the invitation," he said. "I'll speak with River about it, and let you know."

David nodded and glanced at Kaylee. "There's of course room for everybody."

"Sounds real shiny, but I think Simon and I will have to pass," Kaylee said. "I know Simon won't leave Jim nor Zoe. Likes to be right here in case somethin' goes pear-shaped."

"I understand," David said, smiling warmly. "He seems a real devoted doctor."

Kaylee shrugged. "They're family," she said simply.

"So, Mal," David said, turning back to face his former sergeant. "You think Zoe might be up for a little more company?"

"She had plenty of fight in her when I left her," Mal said, his jaw hardening again as he thought about their earlier conversation.

"In that case, I'd best take my gun with me," David said jovially as he stepped past Mal into the infirmary.

Walking back toward the bridge, Mal thought that having a gun with him might have helped his own discussion with Zoe earlier.

XXXXXXXXXX

Gabriel Tam tapped his lips lightly with his steepled fingertips. River's request, as was typical, had been ingeniously phrased. And he was fairly certain that anyone monitoring his communications would not find it even slightly suspicious. However, he could not escape a vague feeling of uneasiness, as if he and his family were somehow suddenly much more vulnerable than he would like. Attributing it to the paranoia that had persistently plagued him since hearing what River had endured at the Academy from her own lips, he sighed deeply.

Regan, however, seemed to have no such qualms about the arrangements. She was flitting about the house like a woman years her junior, humming happily in thoughts of seeing her grandchildren again.

But therein lay yet another source of disquiet for her husband. Gabriel knew that his children could not dare come to his own home, despite Regan's hope that it could happen if they were extremely careful. And Gabriel had to find somewhere safe for the two branches of the Tam family to meet in secrecy on Osiris. In addition, he had the daunting task of securing a place for Jim Bowden to receive adequate medical care, as well as Zoe Washburne. How to do this without drawing unwanted attention to himself was presenting him with something of a dilemma. He was determined, however, that River's trust in him would not be misplaced this time. Surely his children were not that only ones in the family who could evade Alliance detection, he thought tiredly. Perhaps if he could just sleep tonight, tomorrow an idea might present itself. Thus determined, he climbed the stairs slowly and prepared for bed.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Aren't you tired of sitting up?" Simon asked, looking at Zoe in concern. "You've been sitting there for hours now."

Zoe looked at Jim carefully. "Can't help thinking that if I sit here long enough, and hold his hand hard enough, he'll wake up," she admitted.

Simon sighed. "I wish it were that easy," he said. "But the brain is a very complex piece of machinery, and while it is incredibly resilient in some ways, it is altogether too delicate in others."

"Is he in there, doctor?" Zoe asked quietly.

"There is abundant evidence of neurological activity," Simon answered. "But as for whether the man you know is 'in there', I really cannot say with any degree of accuracy."

Zoe sighed. "Somehow, it's the waiting to know that wears on a body," she said. "If I just knew one way or the other…" Her words trailed off.

"I know," Simon said gently. "And I wish I could tell you, but I just can't."

"'S'all right, Simon," Zoe said, standing up slowly and carefully. "'Spect regardless of what you said either way, I'd be sitting right here holding his hand." She turned her attention back to Jim, bending down to kiss his cool cheek. "Least the fever ain't come back," she observed.

"That's a good sign," Simon was saying when he heard Zoe's gasp. He looked up quickly and caught her expression of surprise. "Zoe, what…."

"He moved," she said. "Just now, when we were talking. Moved his fingers, like maybe he was trying to squeeze my hand." Turning back to Jim, she said, "Can you hear me, baby? If you can, show Simon what you just did."

Eyes riveted to the place where their hands were joined, Simon and Zoe waited. A long minute passed, and then another. Simon shifted uncomfortably. "Zoe, maybe it was just…"

"Look," she said.

Simon looked again and saw Jim's fingers curve very distinctly around Zoe's hand. Grabbing some of his diagnostic equipment, he began to test Jim for various responses. After several minutes, he looked at Zoe and smiled. "The responses are very slow, but they're there," he said.

"So, he can hear us, right? I mean, he did what I asked, even if it was slower than usual," Zoe said.

Simon nodded. "Remember that I told you the parietal lobe controls how speech is processed? It could be that he hears us, but that it takes him a little longer to process what we are saying. Hence, the response time would lag. I can't be sure of that until he is more alert, of course, but I think it is a fair bet that this might be the case. Either way, this is a very positive sign."

Zoe smiled in relief and Simon was momentarily stunned by the sheer beauty of that smile. "Think we could have some time alone now, Doc?" she said. "There are some things I'd like to say to him that you might not want to hear."

"By all means," Simon said, hastily backing away from the bed. "Far be it from me to stay the course of true love."

Zoe snorted. "I'll call you if anything unusual happens," she said before turning all her attention back to the man in the bed.

"And don't overdo it," Simon cautioned. "Remember, you need your rest as well."

Zoe waved him off. "'Spect I'll be sleepin' easier than I have in several days," she said, her expression more peaceful than Simon had seen it since she'd come down the mountainside. More pleased than he could express by the sudden turn of events, he slipped out of the infirmary quietly, a happy smile curving his lips.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	19. Chapter 19

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XIX—Paying Respects**

Author: justslummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss's andbox.

Rating: PG

Summary: Jayne attends the memorial service in the settlement, and Jim makes some headway.

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Jayne stood in the mid-afternoon sun of Whittier, a small trickle of sweat running down the center of his back. The freshly dug graves stretched out to the ends of the church grounds, stark testament to how many families had lost loved ones in the horror of the mountain camp. Listening to the shepherd's sermon, Jayne could not help but think of Shepherd Book and the way he would have comforted the survivors in the settlement.

In a burst of generosity, Jayne forgave the droning shepherd his boring manner and made sure to nod appreciatively at all the right spots in the lengthy sermon. Looking out at the row of graves, he was struck again by the waste before him. These people had done nothing but come out to this planet to start a new life, and their hopes had been crushed under the heels of a group of half-savage men with a perverted kind of religiosity. Somehow, it did not seem right that the only price those mountaineers had paid was their lives. It seemed to Jayne as if that hardly evened the score, when he looked into the faces of the mourners at the gravesides.

As if sensing his thoughts, Inara slipped her small hand into his much larger one and squeezed gently, offering her quiet support. Jayne smiled at her, thinking her altogether the most beautiful creature God had put together as a slight breeze lifted the thin fabric of her veil. She returned the smile before turning her attention back to the shepherd.

Looking at the crowd that had gathered, Jayne saw a few faces that looked vaguely familiar, and he realized with a start that they were some of the men who had been chained in the enclosure with him. One of the men caught his eye, and gave him a nod of recognition. Jayne returned the nod, amazed by how different the man looked when he was clean and, more importantly, free. Looking more closely, he saw others that he recognized, some still with the look of utter defeat that had clung to them even after they started back down the mountain as free men, and others who seemed to be regaining their equilibrium despite the somber occasion.

Mal and River stood a distance behind Jayne, their hands intertwined as they too looked at the gaping holes in the ground that would soon welcome the victims of the descendants of the first settlers of Whittier. Unlike Jayne, who had not read the journal River found in Cyrus' cabin, Mal saw both sides of the tragedy and silently wondered at man's unerring ability to cause pain and suffering to other men under the guise of divine revelation. Though River had said she had confidence in his ability to teach Adam the things he needed to know to be a decent man, Mal sometimes wondered if he truly did have such ability. Adam had seen so many horrors in his young life, things that would make a grown man question his belief system. And yet, for all that, Adam retained an innocence that shook Mal to his very roots. Shaking those thoughts out of his head, he turned his attention back to the preacher in time to see the man bow his head in a final prayer. Mal watched as the settlers followed suit, bowing their heads in prayer for their dead. And standing there in the slight breeze, he wondered if God would ultimately hear their pleas.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Would be mighty obliged if you'd stay to supper with the congregation," Shepherd Bennett said to the Captain. "If it hadn't been for you and your folk, I shudder to think what would have happened. What did happen was bad enough, affecting nearly every family in the settlement one way or another, but if it had continued…" He shook his head, at a loss as he considered his grieving parishioners.

Glancing at River, Mal said, "We'd be more than glad to stay to supper, but we have two little ones at home who are probably gettin' a mite antsy to see their parents."

Bennett nodded. "As you like, Captain Reynolds, but rest assured that you're welcome at our table any time."

"'Preciate it, Shepherd," Mal said, shaking the man's hand and turning to go.

"But Mr. Cobb, surely you can stay with us for supper," Shepherd Bennett pressed. "You and your…." He hesitated, not quite sure of what to call Inara. "Friend," he finished.

Jayne glanced at Inara, who inclined her head almost imperceptibly. "Be glad to," he answered.

Bennett clapped him on the back. "Some of the men that were in the camp have told me about your bravery, and the way you stood up to those vile men. I expect the Lord was fighting on your side."

Jayne scratched his beard thoughtfully. "Don't know about all that," he said. "But I can tell you I'm more than glad to be outta' that place."

Bennett nodded sympathetically. "I would imagine so," he said, herding Jayne and Inara toward a large table groaning under the weight of dishes that his parishioners had provided. "Dig in, Mr. Cobb. The Bible says that a workman is worthy of his wages."

Grinning, Jayne picked up a plate.

XXXXXXXXXX

"Let me do it," Kaylee said, batting Zoe away from Jim's bed with a smile. "You know you shouldn't be pullin' on things just yet."

Zoe stepped back, struck by Kaylee's common sense. Watching with delight as Kaylee took one arm and Simon took the other, she smiled at Jim as they pulled him into a sitting position. Though he had said nothing since awakening, she could see the light behind his eyes, the undefinable spark that was Jim at his very core. Propping him up on pillows, Simon and Kaylee stepped back to view their handiwork. Jim's head wobbled slightly, as if he was fighting vertigo, and then he slumped to the side. Simon jumped forward, catching him before he fell off the bed.

"Doc?" Zoe asked, not needing to finish the question.

"It could be an effect of the meds," Simon said. "Or perhaps just that he has lain on his back for so long. A patient can experience a certain amount of dizziness after a long period of unconsciousness."

"Or?" Zoe asked, sensing that Simon was leaving something unspoken.

"Or it could be an effect of the trauma," Simon answered. "The parietal lobe regulates a person's orientation to the objects around him. It could be that Jim's perception of distance and space is somewhat impaired. I'll have to do some tests to determine which of those things it is."

Zoe nodded, maintaining eye contact with Jim, who listed slowly to the other side of the bed until Kaylee propped him up with her body.

"Jim," Simon said very slowly and distinctly, pulling him back toward the center of the bed and looking intently into his eyes. "I need to do some tests to see how I can help you. You've experienced a trauma, and I need to see how that affected your brain function. Do you understand?"

He waited, gazing intently at Jim for any sign of cognition. After a moment, Jim blinked slowly and moved his lips as if to respond. No sound came out, and a faint wrinkle appeared briefly on his brow before dissipating. Turning his eyes to Zoe, he blinked again.

"He understands, Simon," Zoe said confidently. "Do the tests."

Simon looked at her uneasily. "I think we might want to wait a bit before we proceed. It was a huge step for Jim to make to open his eyes and keep them open, much less sit up. I don't want to tire him, and it would be altogether too easy to do just that."

"So, what now?" Zoe asked.

"Now, we sit with Jim for awhile, talk to him, tell him what's been going on since he's been away," Simon said, smiling encouragingly at his patient. "In fact, I would say that the more we talk to him, the greater the speed with which he will process the information becomes. From what I've been able to gather from my research, the goal here will be to enable him to make new synaptic connections to replace the ones that were apparently lost. Assuming that there is no mechanical problem with storing new information in his brain, the connections that were damaged can be repaired or simply bypassed in favor of new connections. So, we need to talk…..alot."

Kaylee smiled, bouncing on her feet. "I can do that," she said, squeezing Jim's hand. "Talkin's some of what I do best."

Simon and Zoe laughed, and the lines around Jim's eyes seemed to change a bit as Kaylee sat down on his bed and began her version of recent events. Waving Simon and Zoe away, she said, "We're gonna be talkin' for a bit. Might as well go on up to the galley and get somethin' to eat."

Simon looked at Zoe quizzically. "You up for walking the stairs to get there?"

"No problem," Zoe replied blandly. "Assumin' when we get there you're gonna do the cookin'."

Simon sighed. "All right," he said, making a big show of acquiescing as Zoe leaned to kiss Jim's cheek.

"Save some of the story for me to tell," Zoe said to Kaylee.

Kaylee nodded, grinning at Jim before turning around to face Zoe. "I'll leave the thrillin' heroics part to you."

"You do that," Zoe tossed over her shoulder as she headed to the galley.

XXXXXXXXXX

Jim listened to Kaylee, her words seemingly coming to him from a great distance. There seemed to be something unusual in the way she looked as well, as if she was one moment close enough to touch and the next down a long featureless corridor. He concentrated, trying to decipher exactly what she was talking about, but his mind seemed mired in molasses and he soon lost the thread of her conversation.

He noticed, too, that his body was behaving strangely. Try as he might to form words, his lips and tongue seemed to have a mind of their own, preventing any kind of coherent speech. And then there were his arms and legs, which seemed determined to lie dormant despite his concentrated effort to move them at least a little. Frustrated after a few minutes of the fruitless effort, he returned his attention to Kaylee, who was talking about something with her normal sunny disposition. He tried to lift his lips into a smile, but apparently they too were not cooperating, because Kaylee's smile faded and she asked, "You okay, Jim?" She paused for a moment while he tried to figure out how to answer her. Apparently whatever he managed to do worked, because she smiled again and began prattling away about something else. Exhausted from the effort of trying to focus, Jim decided that just the sound of Kaylee's voice was pleasant enough for right now.

XXXXXXXXXX

"So, we're gonna still get to do some real farmin'?" Adam asked, his eyes shining with excitement.

"If you want," Mal answered, swinging Adam up into his arms. "Mr. Lambert says we can stay up at the farmhouse with him or stay here. Either way, we can start working bright and early tomorrow morning."

Adam thought for a moment. "Think I want to stay here, if we can still be farmin' without stayin' with Mr. Lambert. Wouldn't want to be too far away, case somethin' should happen."

Mal looked at his son carefully, a small pang of regret that Adam had to consider such things already crossing his mind. 'He'll be just fine,' he heard River's voice in his head say. Glancing up at her, he noticed her reassuring smile.

"You sure of that?" he said almost under his breath.

"Yes," she said simply, touching Adam's cheek. "I am."

Adam looked from one parent to the other, trying to divine what they were discussing. "No reading private conversations between your Father and me," River said firmly, fixing him with a mother stare.

Adam sighed. "All right, Mama."

"Good boy," Mal said, setting Adam back down on his sturdy legs. "So, tomorrow morning, when the sun comes up, you and me are gonna go down to the farm house, and see what chores need doing. Sound good?"

Adam nodded, fighting the impulse to hop up and down. "Gonna ride on the horse?" he asked.

"Course," Mal said smiling. "Less you'd rather walk."

Adam rolled his eyes and looked so much like his mother that Mal's breath caught in his throat for a moment. "Gotta ride a horse," he answered. "I can walk any old time."

"Guess you're right, when you put it that way," Mal said. "But if we're gettin' up with the sun, we need to go to bed with the sun, too. Dong ma?"

"Aw, Daddy," Adam said, with that pitch perfect whine all children seem to know instinctively. "You just got back and I wanted to show you all the stuff we did whilst you were gone."

"Nice try," Mal said dryly. "But it'll have to wait. Run along and get your pajamas on. And," he paused, his eyes twinkling. "If you do it real fast, there might be time for a little story 'fore lights out."

"A story about you when you were little on Grandma's ranch?" Adam asked.

"Maybehaps," Mal said. "But only if you wash behind your ears and brush your teeth too."

Adam nodded eagerly and ran toward his room to get into his pajamas.

"You drive a hard bargain," River said, smiling at Adam's obvious enthusiasm for all things farm-related.

Mal shrugged, returning her smile. "Man's gotta use what he's got," he said lightly.

XXXXXXXXXX

To be continued


	20. Chapter 20

Journey's End

**Journey's End**

**Part XX—Out to the Black**

Author: just-slummin

Disclaimer: Don't own 'em. Just playin' in Joss' sandbox.

Rating: PG

Sumamry: Conclusion. Adam gets a taste of life on a farm, and Jim says his first word.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal eased down onto the bed, wincing with the effort. Thinking ruefully that he wasn't as young as he used to be, he pulled off his boots and pulled down his suspenders.

"Need some help with that, ai ren?" River asked, moving easily as if she had not been working in the fields all day herself.

"It ain't polite to rub it in," Mal groused. "Bad enough to be faced with irrefutable evidence that I am old without havin' my young slip of a wife reminding me."

"You're not old yet, ai ren," she said softly.

"Oh no?" Mal replied. "Then why was it I almost couldn't lift Adam into the saddle with me just now? After I spent the day baling hay, that boy felt like he weighed a ton."

River laughed. "Maybe he did," she said. "You should have seen the dirt caked all over him when I gave him a bath. Could have been at least a ton, I calculate."

Mal laughed, reviewing the mental image of his boy covered head to toe in sticky mud, his teeth shining white against his grimy face. "He is having fun, isn't he?" he said, peeling his shirt off his sore shoulders carefully.

River nodded. "So are the other children. Anya spent the day with Lily learning how to make strawberry preserves. It was all we could do to keep Kaylee out of the kitchen until it was done."

Mal nodded. "Seems Daniel's picked up his mama's habits. Jayne had to run him out of the strawberry patch at least five times. And I don't think those juice stains are ever comin' outta those overalls."

River laughed. "Simon was horrified when Inara brought Daniel back to Serenity looking like that. I think he may still be soaking his shirt where Daniel's handprints were."

Mal leaned back against the wall, swinging his tired legs into the bed. "You ever think we should maybehaps find a place, settle down somewhere dirtside, so's Adam and Hannah can play in the dirt every day?"

River's brush stopped in mid-stroke as she considered the question carefully. "I don't think so," she said after a moment. "The Black's their home. They were born there. Grounding them would be taking them from their home, and ours."

Mal sighed. "Still, seems the life we lead ain't exactly how I imagined raisin' a family," he said.

River slipped into bed beside him, curling up close to his warmth. "Perhaps not as you imagined it, but still, what they have is more than what many children receive."

"Such as?" Mal asked.

"Love, freedom, an extended family that lives with them in their home and loves them as if they were their own."

Mal thought about her words. "Conjure you're right," he said softly. "But I'm not sure Adam will be so happy to go back out to the Black when the refueler gets here."

"He'll be ready," River said, beginning to yawn.

"Guess a child raised on a ship can turn out pretty good," Mal observed. "Zoe did."

River nodded, beginning to lose the train of the conversation to sleep. Mal shifted slightly, deliberately waking her up. "'Bout Zoe," he said. "There's something I haven't told you."

River's eyes popped open. "What?" she asked.

"She don't want to marry Jim to get the meds she needs," Mal said, a note of irritation in his voice.

"I can understand that," River said. "Marriage is something important to Zoe, something that should last forever. You know if Wash had not died, they would still be here, arguing and making up like they always did."

"I know," Mal said. "But this is her life she's playin' with. I just can't stand the thought of…" His words trailed off.

"And you tried to change her mind?" River asked.

Mal nodded. "It ain't that easy a task. She's dead set that if he don't ask her himself, she won't marry him."

River sighed. "Then there's nothing to do about it now," she said. "We'll work it out when the time comes." Turning onto her side, she said, "But right now, I need some sleep. Getting up with the chickens is not a natural state."

Mal chuckled, kissing her cheek tenderly. "Night. bao bei," he said, pulling the covers up over them.

"Night," River replied, quietly planning as he turned out the light how to solve Zoe's dilemma.

XXXXXXXXXX

Lily lay in David's arms, the patch of moonlight coming through the open window illuminating the room. "I see why you wanted them to come," she said softly. "They are really quite extraordinary people."

"Yes, they are," David said, stroking his wife's back with his fingertips. "Wouldn't mind if they'd stay through the harvest. They've been such a help around here, and good company to boot."

"Don't think we should push our luck and ask," Lily said, smiling against his chest. "I'd say they've done enough work that we should never ask them to do anything again." She paused for a minute. "They even brought us children to care for. If Captain Reynolds hadn't gone after Zoe, the twins would have died in that camp. And now…" she stopped, momentarily overcome with emotion. "Well, now, they have us, and we have them. It's more of a blessing than we could have hoped for."

"That it is," David replied softly, thinking that Mal and Zoe had once again managed to give him his life back.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe stepped slowly down the stairs into the galley, still moving with great care after her surgery. Kaylee looked up from the frying pan and smiled. "Morning," she said sunnily. "Looks like you're gettin' back into the swing of things."

Zoe nodded. "Hard to resist the smell of bacon, no matter how much it hurts to make your way to it."

"There's coffee too," Kaylee said, quickly reaching up to get a mug for her. "You just have a seat and I'll have it ready in a jiffy."

Zoe sat down carefully. "Listen, Kaylee, there's somethin' I've been meaning to say to you for the past two weeks. I appreciate you comin' down to the infirmary to talk to Jim every day. I know it must be wearin' on you, spending time with him and then looking after Daniel too."

Kaylee smiled. "It don't wear on me at all," she said. "I enjoy talkin' to him, and seein' him make progress. Even Simon said he was amazed at how well he's doin'."

Zoe's lips curved slightly. "I can tell he's gettin' better every day, though sometimes I can see it frustrates him when he can't say what he wants to say."

Kaylee speared a piece of bacon and put it on Zoe's plate. "It'll get better," she said with confidence. "Just takes time is all."

Zoe nodded and sipped her coffee. The thought came unbidden to her that she might not have enough time left to see Jim recover fully, depending on whether she could find a way to get the treatment she needed. Pushing that thought ruthlessly aside, she ate her bacon in silence.

XXXXXXXXXX

Mal and Adam found River walking out of the infirmary. "Everything all right?" Mal asked, seeing her serious look.

River smiled. "Everything's fine. I was just having a visit with Jim."

"Any progress today?" Mal asked quickly.

"Processing words and thoughts faster," River said. "And learning how to sit up without slipping sideways."

"Well, that is progress," Mal said.

Adam tugged on his sleeve. "Can we go now? You said we could go when you found Mama."

River raised an eyebrow. "Go where?"

"We're riding back down to the farmhouse. Lily sent word that some chicks were hatched today, and Adam is in a lather to see them before the refueler gets here," Mal explained.

"Wanna come, Mama?" Adam said, fairly bouncing.

"I think not," River replied. "Though you must look at them carefully and tell me all about them when you get back."

"'Kay, Mama," Adam said, running toward the cargo bay as fast as his young legs could pump.

"Think I'll follow at a more gentlemanly pace," Mal said, giving her a quick peck on the cheek. "See you in awhile."

River nodded, watching the two make their way out into the open field, her heart filled with more joy than she could have imagined in her days at the Academy.

XXXXXXXXXX

Zoe sat on the edge of Jim's bed, carefully spooning scrambled eggs into his mouth. "Fair amazing how much better fresh eggs taste than those powdered ones we usually eat," she said, making conversation while she watched Jim chew slowly and swallow.

"I'll miss these when we leave here."

Jim looked at her, thinking that she looked very pale and tired. Over the past two weeks, he had come to understand what had happened to him, and to her, through the hours of conversation of the various members of Serenity's crew. He yearned to tell her how he felt, longed to ease the burden she was carrying for them both. And River had made it very clear that he could do so, at least in one small way. He chewed slowly, experimenting with the movement of his jaws and mouth.

Zoe looked down to get another bite onto the spoon. "I expect the refueler will be coming today," she continued.

"Mmmaaa," Jim said, his voice sounding strange and frightful to him.

Zoe looked up at him, startled. "What?" she asked.

Jim concentrated every muscle of his body to respond. "Marrr," he said again, reaching for her hand and missing by several inches.

Zoe wrapped her hand around his. "It's okay. Whatever it is, it's okay," she said soothingly.

Jim blew out a huff of frustration. Scrunching his face up, he tried again. "Marry," he said, squeezing her hand as well as he could manage.

Zoe blinked rapidly several times. "You askin' me to marry you?" she said, holding her voice steady with great effort.

Jim squeezed her hand again and did his best approximation of nodding. "Marry," he said, staring at her intently.

Zoe sat for a long moment, thoughts swirling in her head dizzyingly. "This is not the time to be thinking about this, Jim Bowden," she said.

Jim did not blink. "Marry," he repeated with a little more force.

"You realize if I say yes, you ain't ever gonna be rid of me, right?" Zoe asked, her voice steady but her hands trembling.

Jim blinked distinctly once, which Zoe had come to understand in the last two weeks was his way of saying yes.

"And you understand we got all manner of go se to get through in the next few months?" she pressed.

Jim blinked again.

Zoe looked down at her lap for a moment. "And you understand I can not give you a child?"

Jim squeezed her hand, blinking once more.

Zoe blew out a deep breath she hadn't even been aware of holding. "That being the case, I'd be honored to be your wife."

XXXXXXXXXX

River flicked the three overhead switches, bringing Serenity to roaring life as Mal stood behind the pilot's chair. She turned to look at him expectantly.

"Take us out of the world," Mal said, loving the sound of those words deep in his soul.

River nodded, lifting Serenity into the air with a delicate touch. Moments later, the view of Whittier's atmosphere was replaced by the Black and Mal felt a lightness that had nothing to do with the gravitational change.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" Mal said, struck as always by the sight.

"It is," River and Adam said at the same time.

"So, little fella', you're not sad to be leavin' the farm?" Mal asked, hoisting Adam up into his arms.

Adam's brow wrinkled as he thought about his answer. "No," he said finally. "Like home the very best." He looked out at the stars. "But I wish we coulda' kept the chicks."

Mal and River laughed, the sound reverberating against the bulkhead as Serenity sailed into the Black once more.

XXXXXXXXXX

Author's Note: Thus ends this part of the tales of the 'verse. There are, of course, more tales to tell, and they will be coming along shortly, as our intrepid crew goes to Osiris and beyond, meeting old friends and enemies alike. To those brave souls who have stuck with this storyline, I thank you kindly. You've made the journey pleasant indeed. Happy reading and writing to you all!


End file.
